Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Puzzle + Stylized: a typical launch earns $404 in its first year
That is the median of 182 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 353 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 13.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 15% on the year before: 259 against 226.
- Price
- $404 median of 182 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −0.1% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 259 226 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 642 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,815 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. | 0.18%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.12% to 0.25% | 42 ranked of 642 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,137 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.72xhits against expected | 0.49x to 1.09x | 353 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,637 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +30%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +12% to +55% | 52 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #510 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +9%review growth against same-age games | 0% to +18% | 52 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #336 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
- 353
- Hit rate
- 2.5%1.5% to 4.2%
- Expected rate
- 3.9%
- Against expected
- 0.72x0.49x to 1.09x
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
353 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
- $404
- Top tenth
- $8,694
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
- +15%
- Against Steam
- −16%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
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.
- Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,391 reviews, 97% positiveest. $2.3M
- Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,745 reviews, 93% positiveest. $1.6M
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,125 reviews, 93% positiveest. $1.6M
- Eclipsium (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,345 reviews, 91% positiveest. $847k
- Artisan TD (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,238 reviews, 88% positiveest. $770k
- Children of the Sun (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,010 reviews, 92% positiveest. $610k
- Turbo Dismount® 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 756 reviews, 95% positiveest. $306k
- Paper Trail (opens the Steam store)2024 · 736 reviews, 94% positiveest. $298k
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 Stylized
pairs with Stylized- Roguelite + Stylized$2,12543 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Stylized$1,48650 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months
- Surreal + Stylized$1,26334 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- FPS + Stylized$1,01141 launches priced, 79 releases in 12 months
- Stylized + Linear$75830 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Stylized + 2D Platformer$70731 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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