Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Arcade / 2D Platformer
Arcade + 2D Platformer: a typical launch earns $202 in its first year
That is the median of 259 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 7 of 530 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 16.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 27% on the year before: 410 against 324.
- Price
- $202 median of 259 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −16.5% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 410 324 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 568 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,485 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. | 0.08%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.05% to 0.11% | 19 ranked of 568 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,034 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.51xhits against expected | 0.35x to 0.81x | 530 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,566 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.
Launch success
launches 6 to 30 months oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 530
- Hit rate
- 1.3%0.8% to 2.5%
- Expected rate
- 3.1%
- Against expected
- 0.51x0.35x to 0.81x
Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.
Revenue spread
530 launchesEstimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.
- Bottom tenth
- $0
- Median
- $202
- Top tenth
- $4,029
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +27%
Parent tags
- ArcadeGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- 2D PlatformerGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.
- Laika: Aged Through Blood (opens the Steam store)2023 · 5,977 reviews, 91% positiveest. $2.3M
- Terminator 2D: NO FATE (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,463 reviews, 84% positiveest. $888k
- Contra: Operation Galuga (opens the Steam store)2024 · 813 reviews, 87% positiveest. $658k
- Alex Jones: NWO Wars (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,748 reviews, 92% positiveest. $629k
- Iron Meat (opens the Steam store)2024 · 988 reviews, 96% positiveest. $400k
- Pepper Grinder (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,118 reviews, 85% positiveest. $339k
- Nitro Express (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,072 reviews, 75% positiveest. $282k
- Twin Shot Deluxe (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,180 reviews, 95% positiveest. $239k
More with Arcade
pairs with Arcade- Co-op + Arcade$1,37646 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Twin Stick Shooter$1,01169 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Female Protagonist$96168 launches priced, 82 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Local Co-Op$96050 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Anime$91052 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Difficult$80679 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
More with 2D Platformer
pairs with 2D Platformer- Metroidvania + 2D Platformer$1,78091 launches priced, 107 releases in 12 months
- Anime + 2D Platformer$1,17390 launches priced, 113 releases in 12 months
- 2D Platformer + Souls-like$96931 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
- Sci-fi + 2D Platformer$84935 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
- 2D Platformer + Female Protagonist$84281 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + 2D Platformer$72841 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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