Psychological + Interactive Fiction: a typical launch earns $942 in its first year

That is the median of 33 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 4 of 63 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 2.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 46% on the year before: 57 against 39.

Price: $942
Price vs a year earlier: −8.5%
Releases, 12 months: 57
Upcoming games: 126
Games on the store: 311

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.

Psychological + Interactive Fiction 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	0.11%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.02% to 0.21%	6 ranked of 126 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#5,520 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.28xhits against expected	0.88x to 2.10x	63 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,412 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+4%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−27% to +41%	19 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,297 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+8%review growth against same-age games	−3% to +19%	19 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#391 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: 4
Expected: 2.5

Launches: 63
Hit rate: 6.3%1.5% to 13.0%
Expected rate: 3.9%
Against expected: 1.28x0.88x to 2.10x

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

63 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: $969
Top tenth: $14,989

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: 57
Prior 12 months: 39

Change: +46%
Against Steam: +4%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

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

pairs with Psychological

Psychological + Walking Simulator$1,81661 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
Surreal + Psychological$1,78330 launches priced, 41 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Psychological$1,57670 launches priced, 122 releases in 12 months
Psychological + Multiple Endings$1,45530 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
Thriller + Psychological$1,37437 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
Psychological Horror + Psychological$1,354130 launches priced, 188 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Psychological

More with Interactive Fiction

pairs with Interactive Fiction

Interactive Fiction + FMV$39,86745 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
Cinematic + Interactive Fiction$4,18748 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
Interactive Fiction + LGBTQ+$4,04637 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Dating Sim + Interactive Fiction$3,15892 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
Romance + Interactive Fiction$3,13063 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Interactive Fiction$2,268207 launches priced, 343 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Interactive Fiction

Verdicts

in development

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