Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / First-Person / Mystery
First-Person + Mystery: a typical launch earns $1,059 in its first year
That is the median of 176 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 21 of 371 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 17.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 44% on the year before: 285 against 198.
- Price
- $1,059 median of 176 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −34.5% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 285 198 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 663 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,688 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. | 0.25%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.16% to 0.37% | 42 ranked of 663 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #908 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.17xhits against expected | 0.87x to 1.59x | 371 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,873 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −5%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −19% to +12% | 53 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,589 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | 0%review growth against same-age games | −8% to +9% | 53 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #805 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 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
- 371
- Hit rate
- 5.7%3.1% to 9.2%
- Expected rate
- 4.7%
- Against expected
- 1.17x0.87x 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
371 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
- $60
- Median
- $970
- Top tenth
- $24,260
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
- +44%
- Against Steam
- +5%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- First-PersonNot 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 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.
- Blue Prince (opens the Steam store)2025 · 17,606 reviews, 85% positiveest. $11M
- Riven (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,773 reviews, 92% positiveest. $2M
- DON'T SCREAM (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,509 reviews, 65% positiveest. $730k
- Subliminal (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,556 reviews, 74% positiveest. $719k
- Dimhaven - The Lost Source (opens the Steam store)2026 · 960 reviews, 86% positiveest. $505k
- Is this Game Trying to Kill Me? (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,516 reviews, 95% positiveest. $460k
- Grunn (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,357 reviews, 95% positiveest. $357k
- Do No Harm (opens the Steam store)2025 · 900 reviews, 74% positiveest. $291k
More with First-Person
pairs with First-Person- Co-op + First-Person$11,81190 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Economy$9,96156 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
- Building + First-Person$7,38241 launches priced, 60 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Management$7,08093 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + First-Person$6,99934 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Online Co-Op$5,747102 launches priced, 173 releases in 12 months
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
Verdicts
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