Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Psychological Horror / Choose Your Own Adventure
Psychological Horror + Choose Your Own Adventure: a typical launch earns $2,545 in its first year
That is the median of 34 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 7 of 80 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 63% on the year before: 83 against 51.
- Price
- $2,545 median of 34 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +39.9% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 83 51 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 176 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 430 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.
| 0.16%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.05% to 0.32% | 16 ranked of 176 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #5,226 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.19xhits against expected | 0.82x to 1.83x | 80 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,787 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 | −31% to +29% | 31 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,563 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 | −1% to +26% | 31 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #238 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
- 80
- Hit rate
- 8.8%4.0% to 16.5%
- Expected rate
- 6.7%
- Against expected
- 1.19x0.82x to 1.83x
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
80 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
- $101
- Median
- $1,474
- Top tenth
- $55,544
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
- +63%
- Against Steam
- +16%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Psychological HorrorGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Choose Your Own AdventureGenre 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.
- Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut (opens the Steam store)2023 · 32,257 reviews, 96% positiveest. $11M
- The Casting of Frank Stone™ (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,599 reviews, 62% positiveest. $3.3M
- AI2U: With You 'Til The End (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,171 reviews, 87% positiveest. $626k
- Backrooms Rec. (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,835 reviews, 68% positiveest. $260k
- While We Wait Here (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,353 reviews, 89% positiveest. $238k
- SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim (opens the Steam store)2025 · 724 reviews, 87% positiveest. $220k
- Folie Fatale (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,612 reviews, 86% positiveest. $184k
- I Hate My Waifu Streamer (opens the Steam store)2025 · 901 reviews, 92% positiveest. $182k
More with Psychological Horror
pairs with Psychological Horror- Co-op + Psychological Horror$5,48140 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Cinematic$5,00947 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Online Co-Op$4,64950 launches priced, 63 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Multiplayer$4,45153 launches priced, 67 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Story Rich$3,335269 launches priced, 401 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Female Protagonist$2,91976 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
Related niches
pairs with Choose Your Own Adventure- Choose Your Own Adventure + Romance$3,13658 launches priced, 86 releases in 12 months
- Choose Your Own Adventure + Dating Sim$3,11675 launches priced, 85 releases in 12 months
- Choose Your Own Adventure + Character Customization$2,97334 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
- Choose Your Own Adventure + Mystery$2,91649 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Choose Your Own Adventure$2,180127 launches priced, 197 releases in 12 months
- Choose Your Own Adventure + Immersive Sim$2,12247 launches priced, 81 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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