Choices Matter + Interactive Fiction: a typical launch earns $1,052 in its first year

That is the median of 139 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 13 of 281 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 16.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 49% on the year before: 240 against 161.

Price: $1,052
Price vs a year earlier: −8.6%
Releases, 12 months: 240
Upcoming games: 510
Games on the store: 1,432

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

Choices Matter + Interactive Fiction on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.	0.29%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.16% to 0.47%	47 ranked of 510 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#781 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	0.81xhits against expected	0.57x to 1.17x	281 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#4,033 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+2%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−11% to +29%	68 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,380 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+11%review growth against same-age games	+3% to +21%	68 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#253 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 old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 13
Expected: 16.8

Launches: 281
Hit rate: 4.6%2.5% to 8.6%
Expected rate: 6.0%
Against expected: 0.81x0.57x to 1.17x

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

281 launches

Estimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.

Bottom tenth: $40
Median: $1,052
Top tenth: $36,729

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 240
Prior 12 months: 161

Change: +49%
Against Steam: +9%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Choices MatterNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
Interactive FictionGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The 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.

More with Choices Matter

pairs with Choices Matter

Choices Matter + Management$6,87135 launches priced, 79 releases in 12 months
Mystery + Choices Matter$6,00949 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
Choices Matter + Dating Sim$4,06442 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
RPG + Choices Matter$3,339128 launches priced, 212 releases in 12 months
Character Customization + Choices Matter$3,15735 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Choices Matter$3,038225 launches priced, 352 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Choices Matter

More with Interactive Fiction

pairs with Interactive Fiction

Interactive Fiction + FMV$39,86745 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
Cinematic + Interactive Fiction$4,18748 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
Interactive Fiction + LGBTQ+$4,04637 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Dating Sim + Interactive Fiction$3,15892 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
Romance + Interactive Fiction$3,13063 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Interactive Fiction$2,268207 launches priced, 343 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Interactive Fiction

Verdicts

in development

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