Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Puzzle + Immersive Sim: a typical launch earns $545 in its first year

That is the median of 115 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 10 of 229 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 9.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 24% on the year before: 157 against 127.

Price: $545
Price vs a year earlier: −57.7%
Releases, 12 months: 157
Upcoming games: 391
Games on the store: 934

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.

Puzzle + Immersive Sim 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.	0.28%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.22% to 0.37%	41 ranked of 391 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#809 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.07xhits against expected	0.74x to 1.60x	229 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,396 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+15%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−5% to +38%	35 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#922 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+4%review growth against same-age games	−5% to +13%	35 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#618 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: 10
Expected: 9.2

Launches: 229
Hit rate: 4.4%2.7% to 7.9%
Expected rate: 4.0%
Against expected: 1.07x0.74x to 1.60x

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

229 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: $0
Median: $606
Top tenth: $26,231

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: 157
Prior 12 months: 127

Change: +24%
Against Steam: −9%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

PuzzleGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Immersive SimGenre 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 Puzzle

pairs with Puzzle

Puzzle + Open World$3,68033 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
Metroidvania + Puzzle$2,32437 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
Puzzle + Visual Novel$2,10397 launches priced, 167 releases in 12 months
Puzzle + Story Rich$2,000292 launches priced, 408 releases in 12 months
Puzzle + Co-op$1,92037 launches priced, 77 releases in 12 months
Puzzle + Dark Humor$1,87830 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Puzzle

More with Immersive Sim

pairs with Immersive Sim

Cinematic + Immersive Sim$24,23132 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
Capitalism + Immersive Sim$16,42037 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
Multiplayer + Immersive Sim$15,00039 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
Economy + Immersive Sim$14,95288 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
Immersive Sim + Management$8,720136 launches priced, 195 releases in 12 months
Building + Immersive Sim$7,64451 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Immersive Sim

Verdicts

in development

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