Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Cute + Wholesome: a typical launch earns $1,454 in its first year

That is the median of 129 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 18 of 242 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 35% on the year before: 189 against 140.

Price: $1,454
Price vs a year earlier: −53.4%
Releases, 12 months: 189
Upcoming games: 244
Games on the store: 758

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 + Wholesome 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.	0.16%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.10% to 0.25%	32 ranked of 244 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,263 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.77xhits against expected	1.29x to 2.44x	242 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#311 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−7%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−23% to +10%	87 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,651 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	−13% to −4%	87 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,196 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: 18
Expected: 8.9

Launches: 242
Hit rate: 7.4%3.6% to 10.9%
Expected rate: 3.7%
Against expected: 1.77x1.29x to 2.44x

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

242 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: $363
Median: $1,363
Top tenth: $45,166

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: 189
Prior 12 months: 140

Change: +35%
Against Steam: −1%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.
WholesomeNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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 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
Casual + Wholesome$1,117132 launches priced, 229 releases in 12 months
Cats + Wholesome$88478 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months
Puzzle + Wholesome$865107 launches priced, 151 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Wholesome

Verdicts

in development

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