Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Exploration + JRPG: a typical launch earns $1,332 in its first year

That is the median of 79 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 11 of 154 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 17.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 17% on the year before: 82 against 99.

Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games

Price: $1,332
Price vs a year earlier: +31.7%
Releases, 12 months: 82
Upcoming games: 361
Games on the store: 880

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 + JRPG 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	0.90%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.30% to 1.50%	55 ranked of 361 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#4,337 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games	0.69xhits against expected	0.48x to 1.00x	154 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#4,806 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	+63%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+31% to +117%	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	#90 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	−6% to +10%	50 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,891 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: 11
Expected: 17.4

Launches: 154
Hit rate: 7.1%3.8% to 14.9%
Expected rate: 11.3%
Against expected: 0.69x0.48x to 1.00x

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

154 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: $40
Median: $1,011
Top tenth: $67,750

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: 82
Prior 12 months: 99

Change: −17%
Against Steam: −38%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

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

pairs with JRPG

JRPG + Female Protagonist$6,70840 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
Visual Novel + JRPG$3,22737 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
Turn-Based Strategy + JRPG$2,42851 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
JRPG + Cute$2,42841 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Strategy + JRPG$2,20440 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
Anime + JRPG$1,71895 launches priced, 121 releases in 12 months

Every pair with JRPG

Verdicts

in development

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