Dating Sim + Interactive Fiction: a typical launch earns $3,158 in its first year

That is the median of 92 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 28 of 174 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 14.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 24% on the year before: 128 against 103.

China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese

Price: $3,158
Price vs a year earlier: −41.6%
Releases, 12 months: 128
Upcoming games: 292
Games on the store: 746

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.

Dating Sim + 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.	0.07%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.06% to 0.09%	24 ranked of 293 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#2,117 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese Listed after unflagged rows on this board	1.74xhits against expected	1.35x to 2.24x	174 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#5,845 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese	+2%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−18% to +27%	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	#1,374 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese Listed after unflagged rows on this board	−9%review growth against same-age games	−20% to +7%	50 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#2,410 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: 28
Expected: 14.8

Launches: 174
Hit rate: 16.1%11.7% to 26.9%
Expected rate: 8.5%
Against expected: 1.74x1.35x to 2.24x

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

174 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: $101
Median: $3,489
Top tenth: $206,149

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: 128
Prior 12 months: 103

Change: +24%
Against Steam: −11%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Dating SimGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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 Dating Sim

pairs with Dating Sim

Dating Sim + FMV$40,45030 launches priced, 28 releases in 12 months
Dating Sim + LGBTQ+$7,36631 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
Dating Sim + Otome$6,91133 launches priced, 41 releases in 12 months
RPG + Dating Sim$6,63993 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
Multiple Endings + Dating Sim$6,57961 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Immersive Sim + Dating Sim$5,95146 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Dating Sim

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
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
Mystery + Interactive Fiction$2,22579 launches priced, 113 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Interactive Fiction

Verdicts

in development

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