Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Puzzle / Point & Click
Puzzle + Point & Click: a typical launch earns $810 in its first year
That is the median of 457 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 42 of 897 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 48.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 4% on the year before: 547 against 525.
- Price
- $810 median of 457 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −18.4% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 547 525 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 922 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 4,094 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. | 0.93%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.48% to 1.55% | 87 ranked of 922 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #245 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.88xhits against expected | 0.70x to 1.10x | 897 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,566 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +36%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +24% to +50% | 193 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #363 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 | −1% to +9% | 193 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #637 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
- 897
- Hit rate
- 4.7%2.7% to 5.8%
- Expected rate
- 5.4%
- Against expected
- 0.88x0.70x to 1.10x
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
897 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
- $846
- Top tenth
- $18,017
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
- +4%
- Against Steam
- −24%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- PuzzleGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Point & ClickGenre 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.
- The Roottrees are Dead (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,792 reviews, 96% positiveest. $3.3M
- Endacopia (opens the Steam store)2026 · 7,027 reviews, 99% positiveest. $2.3M
- Escape Simulator 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,415 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.7M
- No Case Should Remain Unsolved (opens the Steam store)2024 · 10,382 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.3M
- Strange Antiquities (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,308 reviews, 95% positiveest. $1.2M
- The Mermaid Mask (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,880 reviews, 99% positiveest. $1.2M
- Boxes: Lost Fragments (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,254 reviews, 92% positiveest. $946k
- Lost and Found Co. (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,776 reviews, 96% positiveest. $890k
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
Related niches
pairs with Point & Click- Point & Click + Investigation$4,85753 launches priced, 84 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Female Protagonist$3,03141 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Story Rich$2,569170 launches priced, 208 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Mystery$2,426120 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Psychological Horror$2,30264 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Detective$2,10470 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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