Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Exploration + CRPG: a typical launch earns $607 in its first year

That is the median of 40 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 7 of 70 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 7.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 18% on the year before: 41 against 50.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $607
Price vs a year earlier: −76.2%
Releases, 12 months: 41
Upcoming games: 210
Games on the store: 445

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.

Exploration + CRPG 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. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	0.41%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.13% to 0.76%	27 ranked of 210 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#4,614 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	0.98xhits against expected	0.67x to 1.49x	70 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,897 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period.
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window.

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: 7
Expected: 7.2

Launches: 70
Hit rate: 11.3%5.4% to 20.8%
Expected rate: 10.3%
Against expected: 0.98x0.67x to 1.49x

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

71 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: $1,604
Top tenth: $155,423

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: 41
Prior 12 months: 50

Change: −18%

Parent tags

ExplorationNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
CRPGGenre 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 Exploration

pairs with Exploration

Exploration + Cozy$24,01549 launches priced, 99 releases in 12 months
Exploration + Open World Survival Craft$13,97334 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
Driving + Exploration$10,40830 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
Exploration + Multiplayer$8,00174 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
Exploration + Online Co-Op$7,08069 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
Co-op + Exploration$5,14762 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Exploration

More with CRPG

pairs with CRPG

CRPG + Party-Based RPG$54633 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
2D + CRPG$40546 launches priced, 82 releases in 12 months
Adventure + CRPG$30335 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
JRPG + CRPGno price52 releases in 12 months
Casual + CRPGno price51 releases in 12 months
Fantasy + CRPGno price43 releases in 12 months

Every pair with CRPG

Verdicts

in development

GMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.