Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Arcade + Idler: a typical launch earns $404 in its first year

That is the median of 65 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 138 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 1.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 184% on the year before: 224 against 79.

Price: $404
Price vs a year earlier: −0.1%
Releases, 12 months: 224
Upcoming games: 328
Games on the store: 752

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

Arcade + Idler on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.	0.15%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.10% to 0.20%	16 ranked of 328 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,341 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	2.46xhits against expected	1.70x to 3.69x	138 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#42 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−54%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−64% to −41%	16 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,330 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−7%review growth against same-age games	−13% to +5%	16 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,119 of 2,461pairs on this board

Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.

Launch success

launches 6 to 30 months old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 9
Expected: 1.9

Launches: 138
Hit rate: 6.5%3.4% to 11.8%
Expected rate: 1.4%
Against expected: 2.46x1.70x to 3.69x

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

138 launches

Estimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.

Bottom tenth: $20
Median: $696
Top tenth: $43,249

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 224
Prior 12 months: 79

Change: +184%
Against Steam: +101%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

ArcadeGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
IdlerGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The 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.

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

Every pair with Arcade

More with Idler

pairs with Idler

Cozy + Idler$3,51835 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
Collectathon + Idler$1,77756 launches priced, 144 releases in 12 months
Nature + Idler$1,66633 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
Management + Idler$1,48690 launches priced, 270 releases in 12 months
Idler + Creature Collector$1,45476 launches priced, 140 releases in 12 months
Building + Idler$1,44436 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Idler

Verdicts

in development

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