Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Horror + Cute: a typical launch earns $2,343 in its first year
That is the median of 40 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 3 of 85 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 31% on the year before: 71 against 54.
- Price
- $2,343 median of 40 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +23.9% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 71 54 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 143 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 467 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.
| 0.26%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.12% to 0.49% | 24 ranked of 144 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,846 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.83xhits against expected | 0.58x to 1.41x | 85 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,928 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +17%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −14% to +51% | 46 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #862 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +11%review growth against same-age games | +1% to +24% | 46 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #259 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
- 85
- Hit rate
- 3.5%0.0% to 15.1%
- Expected rate
- 5.0%
- Against expected
- 0.83x0.58x to 1.41x
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
85 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
- $89
- Median
- $1,854
- Top tenth
- $57,293
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
- +31%
- Against Steam
- −5%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
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.
- Yog-Sothoth’s Yard (opens the Steam store)2023 · 10,291 reviews, 93% positiveest. $1.3M
- Well Dweller (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,585 reviews, 97% positiveest. $642k
- Winion Virus (opens the Steam store)2024 · 982 reviews, 94% positiveest. $219k
- nophenia (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,609 reviews, 96% positiveest. $163k
- Studio System : Guardian Angel (opens the Steam store)2025 · 568 reviews, 93% positiveest. $138k
- Perennial Dusk -Kinsenka- (opens the Steam store)2025 · 176 reviews, 83% positiveest. $107k
- Alice's World (opens the Steam store)2025 · 328 reviews, 89% positiveest. $93k
- Anthology Of The Killer (opens the Steam store)2024 · 640 reviews, 98% positiveest. $91k
More with Horror
pairs with Horror- Horror + Co-op$7,08089 launches priced, 127 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Online Co-Op$5,819120 launches priced, 169 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Multiplayer$5,680106 launches priced, 172 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Lovecraftian$3,41850 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Roguelike$3,33937 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Text-Based$2,83130 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
More with Cute
pairs with Cute- Open World + Cute$5,88634 launches priced, 33 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Romance$5,22277 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Cute$3,396163 launches priced, 188 releases in 12 months
- Cute + LGBTQ+$2,97434 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Cute$2,84651 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Cute$2,798212 launches priced, 288 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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