Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Incremental / Idler
Incremental + Idler: a typical launch earns $707 in its first year
That is the median of 243 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 38 of 559 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 7.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 201% on the year before: 954 against 317.
- Price
- $707 median of 243 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −14.2% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 954 317 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,442 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 3,194 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. | 0.44%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.32% to 0.56% | 59 ranked of 1,443 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #538 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 3.86xhits against expected | 3.04x to 4.89x | 559 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −59%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −65% to −55% | 124 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,342 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 | −15% to −3% | 124 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,338 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
- 559
- Hit rate
- 6.8%3.3% to 9.7%
- Expected rate
- 1.4%
- Against expected
- 3.86x3.04x to 4.89x
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
559 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
- $40
- Median
- $810
- Top tenth
- $53,554
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
- +201%
- Against Steam
- +120%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- IncrementalGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- IdlerGenre 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.
- Scritchy Scratchy (opens the Steam store)2026 · 15,717 reviews, 94% positiveest. $2.1M
- Bills Must Be Paid (opens the Steam store)2026 · 11,047 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.5M
- Shelldiver (opens the Steam store)2025 · 16,989 reviews, 98% positiveest. $1.4M
- (the) Gnorp Apologue (opens the Steam store)2023 · 9,623 reviews, 94% positiveest. $1.3M
- Nodebuster (opens the Steam store)2024 · 13,866 reviews, 97% positiveest. $840k
- Keep on Mining! (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,322 reviews, 93% positiveest. $827k
- Tiny Pasture (opens the Steam store)2025 · 7,070 reviews, 92% positiveest. $611k
- Fortune Mill (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,816 reviews, 81% positiveest. $593k
More with Incremental
pairs with Incremental- Resource Management + Incremental$1,36246 launches priced, 236 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Incremental$1,23332 launches priced, 126 releases in 12 months
- Collectathon + Incremental$1,13151 launches priced, 139 releases in 12 months
- Nature + Incremental$99930 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Incremental + Creature Collector$91664 launches priced, 79 releases in 12 months
- Management + Incremental$81071 launches priced, 241 releases in 12 months
More with Idler
pairs with Idler- Cozy + Idler$3,51835 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- Collectathon + Idler$1,77756 launches priced, 144 releases in 12 months
- Nature + Idler$1,66633 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
- Management + Idler$1,48690 launches priced, 270 releases in 12 months
- Idler + Creature Collector$1,45476 launches priced, 140 releases in 12 months
- Building + Idler$1,44436 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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