Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Casual + Cozy: a typical launch earns $1,395 in its first year
That is the median of 214 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 49 of 454 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 17.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 156% on the year before: 612 against 239.
- Price
- $1,395 median of 214 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −44.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 612 239 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,217 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,327 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. | 0.99%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.62% to 1.45% | 103 ranked of 1,220 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #230 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 2.51xhits against expected | 2.04x to 3.09x | 454 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #36 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −52%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −58% to −45% | 129 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,322 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 | −14% to −6% | 129 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,282 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
- 454
- Hit rate
- 10.8%8.1% to 15.2%
- Expected rate
- 3.9%
- Against expected
- 2.51x2.04x to 3.09x
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
454 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
- $201
- Median
- $1,322
- Top tenth
- $111,911
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
- +156%
- Against Steam
- +87%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.
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,691 reviews, 93% positiveest. $7.7M
- Tiny Glade (opens the Steam store)2024 · 22,804 reviews, 97% positiveest. $6.7M
- Luma Island (opens the Steam store)2024 · 11,233 reviews, 84% positiveest. $4M
- Spirit City: Lofi Sessions (opens the Steam store)2024 · 15,259 reviews, 97% positiveest. $3.4M
- Tiny Bookshop (opens the Steam store)2025 · 7,018 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2.7M
- Cast n Chill (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,422 reviews, 94% positiveest. $2.4M
- Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of The Rings™ Game (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,251 reviews, 81% positiveest. $2.3M
- Is This Seat Taken? (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,190 reviews, 97% positiveest. $1.8M
More with Casual
pairs with Casual- Casual + Job Simulator$8,44230 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
- Casual + LGBTQ+$4,15442 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Romance$2,61486 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Economy$2,204112 launches priced, 302 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Online Co-Op$1,970104 launches priced, 272 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Capitalism$1,92351 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months
More with Cozy
pairs with Cozy- Life Sim + Cozy$34,02737 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Cozy$32,10838 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Cozy$24,01549 launches priced, 99 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Cozy$15,70676 launches priced, 253 releases in 12 months
- Building + Cozy$14,48232 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Management + Cozy$9,50833 launches priced, 77 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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