Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Arcade + Runner: a typical launch earns $132 in its first year
That is the median of 114 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 2 of 238 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 21% on the year before: 170 against 141.
- Price
- $132 median of 114 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +9.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 170 141 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 263 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,072 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. | 0.02%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.01% to 0.02% | 7 ranked of 264 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #3,596 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.61xhits against expected | 0.45x to 1.09x | 238 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,210 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
- 238
- Hit rate
- 0.8%0.0% to 2.1%
- Expected rate
- 2.2%
- Against expected
- 0.61x0.45x to 1.09x
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
238 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
- $121
- Top tenth
- $1,929
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
- +21%
Parent tags
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.
- VHOLUME (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,384 reviews, 97% positiveest. $548k
- Nitro Express (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,072 reviews, 75% positiveest. $282k
- Super Dark Deception (opens the Steam store)2024 · 662 reviews, 65% positiveest. $241k
- Retrowave 2 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 460 reviews, 89% positiveest. $46k
- Sensory Overload (opens the Steam store)2026 · 172 reviews, 94% positiveest. $35k
- Sushi Cat Legacy Collection (opens the Steam store)2025 · 267 reviews, 95% positiveest. $27k
- BEERCRUSH (opens the Steam store)2025 · 209 reviews, 100% positiveest. $21k
- Only Up! (opens the Steam store)2023 · 201 reviews, 11% positiveest. $20k
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 Runner
pairs with Runner- Funny + Runner$54531 launches priced, 24 releases in 12 months
- 3D Platformer + Runner$18271 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Runner$16233 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Runner$15549 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- Action-Adventure + Runner$13270 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
- Platformer + Runner$121112 launches priced, 165 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.