Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Cats + Wholesome: a typical launch earns $884 in its first year
That is the median of 78 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 146 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 1.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 6% on the year before: 95 against 90.
- Price
- $884 median of 78 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −58.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 95 90 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 87 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 367 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.
| 0.04%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.02% to 0.08% | 12 ranked of 87 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #6,457 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.75xhits against expected | 1.19x to 2.85x | 146 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #333 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +18%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −1% to +52% | 64 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #800 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −8%review growth against same-age games | −12% to −4% | 64 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,178 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
- 146
- Hit rate
- 3.4%0.7% to 6.3%
- Expected rate
- 1.1%
- Against expected
- 1.75x1.19x to 2.85x
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
146 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
- $471
- Median
- $1,196
- Top tenth
- $9,212
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
- +6%
- Against Steam
- −22%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.
- Little Kitty, Big City (opens the Steam store)2024 · 10,445 reviews, 96% positiveest. $5M
- Cattails: Wildwood Story (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,485 reviews, 97% positiveest. $601k
- Cats & Cups (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,058 reviews, 89% positiveest. $214k
- Quilts and Cats of Calico (opens the Steam store)2024 · 407 reviews, 93% positiveest. $165k
- A Building Full of Cats 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,157 reviews, 97% positiveest. $164k
- Catto's Post Office (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,209 reviews, 97% positiveest. $122k
- A Shelter Full of Cats (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,157 reviews, 97% positiveest. $117k
- A Planet Full of Cats (opens the Steam store)2026 · 594 reviews, 89% positiveest. $96k
More with Cats
pairs with Cats- Adventure + Cats$1,84443 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
- Family Friendly + Cats$1,33045 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Cats$1,12857 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
- Cats + Cozy$1,10583 launches priced, 142 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Cats$887143 launches priced, 201 releases in 12 months
- Action + Cats$87930 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
More with Wholesome
pairs with Wholesome- Cozy + Wholesome$1,797128 launches priced, 213 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Wholesome$1,77343 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Wholesome$1,572131 launches priced, 208 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Wholesome$1,454129 launches priced, 189 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Wholesome$1,117132 launches priced, 229 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Wholesome$865107 launches priced, 151 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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