Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Horror + Retro: a typical launch earns $1,574 in its first year

That is the median of 105 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 10 of 207 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 7.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 32% on the year before: 151 against 114.

Price: $1,574
Price vs a year earlier: −22.8%
Releases, 12 months: 151
Upcoming games: 296
Games on the store: 810

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.

Horror + Retro 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	0.46%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.22% to 0.87%	43 ranked of 296 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#4,555 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.24xhits against expected	0.86x to 1.85x	207 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,572 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	+6%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−11% to +25%	47 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,225 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	+3%review growth against same-age games	−5% to +11%	47 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,823 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: 10
Expected: 7.5

Launches: 207
Hit rate: 4.8%2.8% to 11.7%
Expected rate: 3.6%
Against expected: 1.24x0.86x to 1.85x

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

207 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: $121
Median: $1,574
Top tenth: $43,424

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: 151
Prior 12 months: 114

Change: +32%
Against Steam: −3%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

HorrorGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
RetroNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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 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

Every pair with Horror

More with Retro

pairs with Retro

Story Rich + Retro$3,28551 launches priced, 77 releases in 12 months
Psychological Horror + Retro$1,59566 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Retro$1,45461 launches priced, 124 releases in 12 months
Retro + 1990's$1,41683 launches priced, 147 releases in 12 months
Retro + Mystery$1,40436 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
Retro + Dark$1,37140 launches priced, 34 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Retro

Verdicts

in development

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