Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Cartoony + Top-Down: a typical launch earns $261 in its first year
That is the median of 45 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 3 of 88 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 7% on the year before: 63 against 59.
- Price
- $261 median of 45 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −46.2% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 63 59 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 146 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 430 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.
| 0.01%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.01% to 0.02% | 5 ranked of 146 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #7,177 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.86xhits against expected | 0.60x to 1.47x | 88 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,681 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
- 88
- Hit rate
- 3.4%1.1% to 6.4%
- Expected rate
- 4.5%
- Against expected
- 0.86x0.60x to 1.47x
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
87 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
- $242
- Top tenth
- $11,245
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
- +7%
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.
- Super Dark Deception (opens the Steam store)2024 · 662 reviews, 65% positiveest. $241k
- #BLUD (opens the Steam store)2024 · 299 reviews, 78% positiveest. $151k
- Poke ALL Toads (opens the Steam store)2026 · 450 reviews, 100% positiveest. $109k
- Kitty's Hungry Adventure (opens the Steam store)2025 · 89 reviews, 89% positiveest. $54k
- DAMON and BABY (opens the Steam store)2026 · 88 reviews, 89% positiveest. $36k
- RED DAWN (opens the Steam store)2025 · 86 reviews, 91% positiveest. $23k
- Hole io (opens the Steam store)2024 · 220 reviews, 59% positiveest. $22k
- Son of a Gun (opens the Steam store)2024 · 80 reviews, 78% positiveest. $16k
More with Cartoony
pairs with Cartoony- Story Rich + Cartoony$2,42632 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Cartoony$1,61731 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
- Cartoony + Cats$78257 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Cartoony + Wholesome$73248 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
- Cartoony + Cozy$70254 launches priced, 74 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Cartoony$67451 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
More with Top-Down
pairs with Top-Down- Wargame + Top-Down$1,70031 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
- City Builder + Top-Down$1,55732 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
- Top-Down + Female Protagonist$1,09231 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Twin Stick Shooter + Top-Down$1,01140 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Top-Down$707143 launches priced, 271 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Top-Down$68543 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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