Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Exploration / Logic
Exploration + Logic: a typical launch earns $607 in its first year
That is the median of 52 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 2 of 114 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 54% on the year before: 88 against 57.
- Price
- $607 median of 52 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −58.4% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 88 57 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 128 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 461 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.
| 0.02%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.01% to 0.04% | 6 ranked of 128 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #6,969 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.55xhits against expected | 0.40x to 0.97x | 114 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,447 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 oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 114
- Hit rate
- 1.8%0.0% to 7.3%
- Expected rate
- 5.4%
- Against expected
- 0.55x0.40x to 0.97x
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
114 launchesEstimated 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
- $505
- Top tenth
- $15,754
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +54%
Parent tags
- ExplorationNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- LogicGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe 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.
- Murders on the Yangtze River (opens the Steam store)2024 · 15,887 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2.9M
- The Artisan of Glimmith (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,584 reviews, 97% positiveest. $615k
- Scene Investigators (opens the Steam store)2023 · 963 reviews, 74% positiveest. $487k
- Schrodinger's Cat Burglar (opens the Steam store)2026 · 622 reviews, 97% positiveest. $252k
- Rivage (opens the Steam store)2026 · 331 reviews, 73% positiveest. $168k
- Bat to the Heavens (opens the Steam store)2024 · 409 reviews, 95% positiveest. $124k
- Lingo 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 448 reviews, 92% positiveest. $91k
- Tunnet (opens the Steam store)2023 · 706 reviews, 94% positiveest. $86k
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
More with Logic
pairs with Logic- Difficult + Logic$1,87747 launches priced, 36 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Logic$1,13385 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months
- Mystery + Logic$72833 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Logic$71766 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Logic$60681 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
- Minimalist + Logic$53692 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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