Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Building + Colorful: a typical launch earns $1,011 in its first year
That is the median of 37 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 10 of 73 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 41% on the year before: 58 against 41.
- Price
- $1,011 median of 37 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −44.5% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 58 41 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 155 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 413 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.
| 0.33%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.05% to 0.80% | 14 ranked of 155 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,721 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.53xhits against expected | 1.07x to 2.22x | 73 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #657 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −11%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −38% to +22% | 15 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,773 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −10%review growth against same-age games | −20% to −1% | 15 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,424 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 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
- 73
- Hit rate
- 13.7%8.9% to 20.3%
- Expected rate
- 7.5%
- Against expected
- 1.53x1.07x to 2.22x
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
73 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
- $65
- Median
- $1,780
- Top tenth
- $239,622
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
- +41%
- Against Steam
- +1%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
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.
- Aloft (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,069 reviews, 82% positiveest. $1.6M
- Hozy (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,256 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1.2M
- Star Birds (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,005 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.2M
- Tower Wizard (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,811 reviews, 96% positiveest. $533k
- World of Goo 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 805 reviews, 87% positiveest. $489k
- Snacko (opens the Steam store)2023 · 889 reviews, 95% positiveest. $450k
- Small Spaces (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,504 reviews, 88% positiveest. $396k
- Synergy (opens the Steam store)2024 · 699 reviews, 79% positiveest. $354k
More with Building
pairs with Building- Building + Cozy$14,48232 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Building + Life Sim$12,54245 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- Building + Colony Sim$11,53947 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- Building + Automation$8,28246 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months
- Building + Economy$7,77095 launches priced, 122 releases in 12 months
- Building + Immersive Sim$7,64451 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
More with Colorful
pairs with Colorful- Colorful + Cozy$3,63859 launches priced, 123 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Colorful$3,39962 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Colorful$2,68975 launches priced, 112 releases in 12 months
- Colorful + Emotional$2,00335 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- Colorful + Life Sim$1,85851 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- Magic + Colorful$1,66832 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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