Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Psychological Horror / Realistic
Psychological Horror + Realistic: a typical launch earns $2,001 in its first year
That is the median of 186 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 15 of 379 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 10.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 6% on the year before: 194 against 207.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $2,001 median of 186 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −2.9% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 194 207 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 401 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,087 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. | 0.13%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.09% to 0.18% | 30 ranked of 401 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,433 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.29xhits against expected | 0.93x to 1.84x | 379 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,379 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +49%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +23% to +81% | 68 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #195 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +3%review growth against same-age games | −8% to +15% | 68 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,818 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
- 379
- Hit rate
- 4.0%1.8% to 7.4%
- Expected rate
- 2.9%
- Against expected
- 1.29x0.93x to 1.84x
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
379 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
- $153
- Median
- $2,003
- Top tenth
- $24,503
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
- −6%
- Against Steam
- −31%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Psychological HorrorGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- RealisticNot 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.
- POOLS (opens the Steam store)2024 · 6,480 reviews, 95% positiveest. $1.2M
- Total Chaos (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,569 reviews, 86% positiveest. $794k
- DON'T SCREAM (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,509 reviews, 65% positiveest. $730k
- Subliminal (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,556 reviews, 74% positiveest. $719k
- A.I.L.A (opens the Steam store)2025 · 891 reviews, 81% positiveest. $541k
- Beyond Hanwell (opens the Steam store)2024 · 723 reviews, 75% positiveest. $366k
- The Other Side (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,191 reviews, 93% positiveest. $337k
- SILENT BREATH (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,128 reviews, 67% positiveest. $228k
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
More with Realistic
pairs with Realistic- Multiplayer + Realistic$17,04044 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Management$13,70546 launches priced, 74 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Economy$10,95531 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Life Sim$6,57659 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Realistic$5,46362 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Thriller + Realistic$3,21454 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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