Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Cute + 2D Platformer: a typical launch earns $505 in its first year

That is the median of 260 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 19 of 483 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 26.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 7% on the year before: 325 against 305.

Price: $505
Price vs a year earlier: −25.3%
Releases, 12 months: 325
Upcoming games: 652
Games on the store: 2,196

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.

Cute + 2D Platformer 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.	0.12%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.08% to 0.16%	28 ranked of 652 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,547 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	0.75xhits against expected	0.55x to 1.04x	483 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#4,376 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+29%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+10% to +50%	50 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#538 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+1%review growth against same-age games	−12% to +13%	50 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#762 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: 19
Expected: 26.1

Launches: 483
Hit rate: 3.9%2.6% to 6.4%
Expected rate: 5.4%
Against expected: 0.75x0.55x to 1.04x

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

484 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: $0
Median: $505
Top tenth: $20,572

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: 325
Prior 12 months: 305

Change: +7%
Against Steam: −21%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

CuteNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
2D PlatformerGenre 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 Cute

pairs with Cute

Open World + Cute$5,88634 launches priced, 33 releases in 12 months
Cute + Romance$5,22277 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Cute$3,396163 launches priced, 188 releases in 12 months
Cute + LGBTQ+$2,97434 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
Psychological Horror + Cute$2,84651 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
Visual Novel + Cute$2,798212 launches priced, 288 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Cute

More with 2D Platformer

pairs with 2D Platformer

Metroidvania + 2D Platformer$1,78091 launches priced, 107 releases in 12 months
Anime + 2D Platformer$1,17390 launches priced, 113 releases in 12 months
2D Platformer + Souls-like$96931 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
Sci-fi + 2D Platformer$84935 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
2D Platformer + Female Protagonist$84281 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
Hack and Slash + 2D Platformer$72841 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months

Every pair with 2D Platformer

Verdicts

in development

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