Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Old School / Pixel Graphics
Old School + Pixel Graphics: a typical launch earns $282 in its first year
That is the median of 97 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 202 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 11.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 19% on the year before: 133 against 112.
- Price
- $282 median of 97 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −56.4% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 133 112 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 235 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 964 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. | 0.21%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.09% to 0.33% | 25 ranked of 235 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,008 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.56xhits against expected | 0.38x to 0.92x | 202 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,403 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
- 202
- Hit rate
- 2.5%1.8% to 6.1%
- Expected rate
- 5.6%
- Against expected
- 0.56x0.38x to 0.92x
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
202 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
- $495
- Top tenth
- $12,806
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
- Old SchoolNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Pixel GraphicsNot 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.
- Guns of Fury (opens the Steam store)2025 · 963 reviews, 88% positiveest. $292k
- Hoop Land (opens the Steam store)2025 · 714 reviews, 96% positiveest. $217k
- The Crimson Diamond (opens the Steam store)2024 · 657 reviews, 96% positiveest. $199k
- Clock Tower: Rewind (opens the Steam store)2024 · 462 reviews, 88% positiveest. $187k
- Morsels (opens the Steam store)2025 · 553 reviews, 75% positiveest. $168k
- Fallen Leaf (opens the Steam store)2024 · 274 reviews, 90% positiveest. $94k
- River City: Rival Showdown (opens the Steam store)2023 · 182 reviews, 54% positiveest. $92k
- Orc Incremental (opens the Steam store)2026 · 556 reviews, 76% positiveest. $90k
More with Old School
pairs with Old School- First-Person + Old School$2,12537 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
- Old School + 1990's$1,80034 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
- Shooter + Old School$1,55845 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Old School + 3D$83942 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Old School$62748 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Old School$60767 launches priced, 82 releases in 12 months
More with Pixel Graphics
pairs with Pixel Graphics- Pixel Graphics + Tactical RPG$3,27132 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
- Metroidvania + Pixel Graphics$2,73164 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
- Pixel Graphics + Turn-Based Combat$2,18391 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
- Pixel Graphics + Collectathon$1,85847 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Pixel Graphics$1,849182 launches priced, 221 releases in 12 months
- Pixel Graphics + Female Protagonist$1,69299 launches priced, 140 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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