Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Horror + VR: a typical launch earns $1,213 in its first year
That is the median of 33 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 66 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 19% on the year before: 29 against 36.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $1,213 median of 33 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −11.1% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 29 36 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 89 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 521 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 0.02% | 9 ranked of 89 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #3,608 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.68xhits against expected | 0.46x to 1.08x | 66 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,858 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
- 66
- Hit rate
- 7.6%4.4% to 15.9%
- Expected rate
- 13.4%
- Against expected
- 0.68x0.46x to 1.08x
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
66 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
- $1,436
- Top tenth
- $44,022
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
- −19%
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.
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic (opens the Steam store)2025 · 10,957 reviews, 86% positiveest. $8.9M
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 (opens the Steam store)2023 · 5,114 reviews, 94% positiveest. $4.1M
- The Midnight Walk (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,717 reviews, 92% positiveest. $1.7M
- CONVRGENCE (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,668 reviews, 88% positiveest. $844k
- Z.O.N.A: Origin (opens the Steam store)2024 · 543 reviews, 83% positiveest. $220k
- The 7th Guest VR (opens the Steam store)2023 · 428 reviews, 92% positiveest. $173k
- MADiSON VR (opens the Steam store)2024 · 207 reviews, 76% positiveest. $147k
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice (opens the Steam store)2024 · 235 reviews, 64% positiveest. $143k
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 VR
pairs with VR- Action-Adventure + VR$6,75746 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + VR$1,82133 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + VR$1,51851 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
- FPS + VR$1,27432 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + VR$1,21481 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
- Immersive Sim + VR$1,21455 launches priced, 41 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.