Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Emotional + Mystery: a typical launch earns $2,057 in its first year

That is the median of 30 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 4 of 69 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 38% on the year before: 54 against 39.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $2,057
Price vs a year earlier: −2.5%
Releases, 12 months: 54
Upcoming games: 170
Games on the store: 389

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.

Emotional + Mystery 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.	0.08%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.06% to 0.12%	18 ranked of 170 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,995 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. One game dominates the figure	0.97xhits against expected	0.66x to 1.59x	69 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,986 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	+3%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−28% to +47%	17 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,350 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	+2%review growth against same-age games	−11% to +15%	17 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,901 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: 4
Expected: 4.2

Launches: 69
Hit rate: 5.8%1.6% to 18.1%
Expected rate: 6.2%
Against expected: 0.97x0.66x to 1.59x

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

69 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: $77
Median: $1,214
Top tenth: $67,635

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: 54
Prior 12 months: 39

Change: +38%
Against Steam: −1%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

EmotionalNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
MysteryNot 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 Emotional

pairs with Emotional

Emotional + Hand-drawn$3,75736 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Emotional$3,130121 launches priced, 200 releases in 12 months
Emotional + Multiple Endings$3,03442 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
Anime + Emotional$2,67157 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
Cute + Emotional$2,67167 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
Adventure + Emotional$2,488136 launches priced, 194 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Emotional

More with Mystery

pairs with Mystery

Mystery + Choices Matter$6,00949 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
Anime + Mystery$5,55743 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
Mystery + Female Protagonist$5,30753 launches priced, 76 releases in 12 months
Detective + Mystery$5,207106 launches priced, 184 releases in 12 months
Cinematic + Mystery$4,60234 launches priced, 41 releases in 12 months
Surreal + Mystery$4,52440 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Mystery

Verdicts

in development

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