Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Puzzle / Programming
Puzzle + Programming: 37 releases in the last 12 months
There is no price yet: it needs 30 or more indie paid launches in the last four complete quarters. 2 of 45 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 48% on the year before: 37 against 25.
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 37 25 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 98 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 318 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.
| 0.05%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.03% to 0.08% | 9 ranked of 98 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #6,277 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.81xhits against expected | 0.59x to 1.40x | 45 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,057 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
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
- 45
- Hit rate
- 4.4%0.0% to 9.6%
- Expected rate
- 7.1%
- Against expected
- 0.81x0.59x to 1.40x
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
45 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
- $125
- Median
- $911
- Top tenth
- $46,443
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
- +48%
Parent tags
- PuzzleGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- ProgrammingGenre 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.
- Database Detective: Minor Crimes Division (opens the Steam store)2026 · 936 reviews, 97% positiveest. $284k
- Kaizen: A Factory Story (opens the Steam store)2025 · 695 reviews, 91% positiveest. $281k
- Craftomation 101: Programming & Craft (opens the Steam store)2024 · 672 reviews, 83% positiveest. $204k
- Replicube (opens the Steam store)2025 · 713 reviews, 96% positiveest. $144k
- JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 382 reviews, 76% positiveest. $139k
- Tunnet (opens the Steam store)2023 · 706 reviews, 94% positiveest. $86k
- U.V.S. Nirmana (opens the Steam store)2026 · 219 reviews, 88% positiveest. $66k
- 14 Minesweeper Variants 2 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 371 reviews, 97% positiveest. $53k
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
More with Programming
pairs with Programming- Simulation + Programming$2,89331 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Programmingno price30 releases in 12 months
- Programming + Automationno price29 releases in 12 months
- Programming + Logicno price28 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Programmingno price24 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Programmingno price22 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.