Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Multiple Endings / Text-Based
Multiple Endings + Text-Based: a typical launch earns $1,030 in its first year
That is the median of 58 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 2 of 127 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 7.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 79% on the year before: 131 against 73.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $1,030 median of 58 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −32.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 131 73 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 199 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 612 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. | 0.04%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.03% to 0.06% | 14 ranked of 199 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,884 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.47xhits against expected | 0.34x to 0.84x | 127 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,665 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −31%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −47% to −7% | 16 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,171 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −10%review growth against same-age games | −24% to +3% | 16 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,421 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
- 127
- Hit rate
- 1.6%0.0% to 4.9%
- Expected rate
- 6.0%
- Against expected
- 0.47x0.34x to 0.84x
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
127 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
- $12
- Median
- $814
- Top tenth
- $10,916
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
- +79%
- Against Steam
- +30%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Multiple EndingsNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Text-BasedNot 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.
- Homicipher (opens the Steam store)2024 · 7,840 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2M
- Noctuary (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,376 reviews, 94% positiveest. $875k
- Aliya: Timelink (opens the Steam store)2024 · 8,610 reviews, 97% positiveest. $303k
- Sofia in Exchange for Lies (opens the Steam store)2025 · 164 reviews, 81% positiveest. $86k
- lovebyte.exe (opens the Steam store)2026 · 310 reviews, 96% positiveest. $75k
- Mushroom Musume (opens the Steam store)2025 · 221 reviews, 95% positiveest. $67k
- Kamaitachi no Yoru x3 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 73 reviews, 83% positiveest. $44k
- Lovely Lady RPG (opens the Steam store)2025 · 121 reviews, 99% positiveest. $39k
More with Multiple Endings
pairs with Multiple Endings- Multiple Endings + Dating Sim$6,57961 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Multiple Endings + LGBTQ+$5,85936 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Anime + Multiple Endings$4,54757 launches priced, 118 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Multiple Endings$3,943122 launches priced, 197 releases in 12 months
- Multiple Endings + Immersive Sim$3,52746 launches priced, 40 releases in 12 months
- Romance + Multiple Endings$3,17648 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
More with Text-Based
pairs with Text-Based- Horror + Text-Based$2,83130 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
- Anime + Text-Based$2,10148 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Text-Based$1,71867 launches priced, 149 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Text-Based$1,36644 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- Choices Matter + Text-Based$1,20374 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
- Interactive Fiction + Text-Based$1,13396 launches priced, 190 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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