Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Casual + Stylized: a typical launch earns $202 in its first year
That is the median of 340 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 694 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 19.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 54% on the year before: 637 against 413.
- Price
- $202 median of 340 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −16.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 637 413 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,235 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 3,294 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. | 0.30%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.18% to 0.50% | 36 ranked of 1,235 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #771 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.40xhits against expected | 0.27x to 0.65x | 694 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,747 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −9%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −22% to +7% | 52 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,711 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +3%review growth against same-age games | −5% to +14% | 52 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #673 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
- 694
- Hit rate
- 0.9%0.4% to 1.4%
- Expected rate
- 2.8%
- Against expected
- 0.40x0.27x to 0.65x
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
694 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
- $211
- Top tenth
- $3,739
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
- +54%
- Against Steam
- +13%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.
- Star Birds (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,005 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.2M
- Slackers - Carts of Glory (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,988 reviews, 91% positiveest. $523k
- Leafy Corner (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,526 reviews, 96% positiveest. $511k
- Funi Raccoon Game (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,696 reviews, 99% positiveest. $412k
- Dancing Line (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,648 reviews, 92% positiveest. $333k
- Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,059 reviews, 97% positiveest. $321k
- Paper Trail (opens the Steam store)2024 · 736 reviews, 94% positiveest. $298k
- A Game About Chopping Trees (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,143 reviews, 85% positiveest. $185k
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 Stylized
pairs with Stylized- Roguelite + Stylized$2,12543 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Stylized$1,48650 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months
- Surreal + Stylized$1,26334 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- FPS + Stylized$1,01141 launches priced, 79 releases in 12 months
- Stylized + Linear$75830 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Stylized + 2D Platformer$70731 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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