Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Puzzle / Time Manipulation
Puzzle + Time Manipulation: 28 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. 1 of 46 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 8% on the year before: 28 against 26.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 28 26 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 72 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 230 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 0.07% | 10 ranked of 72 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,543 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.58xhits against expected | 0.47x to 1.05x | 46 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,324 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
- 46
- Hit rate
- 2.2%0.0% to 14.1%
- Expected rate
- 8.4%
- Against expected
- 0.58x0.47x to 1.05x
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
46 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
- $20
- Median
- $1,070
- Top tenth
- $59,085
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
- +8%
Parent tags
- PuzzleGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Time ManipulationNot 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.
- Braid, Anniversary Edition (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,766 reviews, 92% positiveest. $715k
- Kill The Shadow (opens the Steam store)2026 · 459 reviews, 86% positiveest. $158k
- MotionRec (opens the Steam store)2025 · 436 reviews, 99% positiveest. $88k
- Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo: Closure Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 164 reviews, 99% positiveest. $66k
- Super Puzzled Cat (opens the Steam store)2025 · 189 reviews, 98% positiveest. $65k
- UnLoop (opens the Steam store)2025 · 170 reviews, 98% positiveest. $62k
- Theta and Paralldox on Worldlines (opens the Steam store)2026 · 278 reviews, 97% positiveest. $56k
- Super Drift Blade (opens the Steam store)2025 · 355 reviews, 93% positiveest. $50k
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 Time Manipulation
pairs with Time Manipulation- Action + Time Manipulationno price25 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Time Manipulationno price17 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Time Manipulationno price16 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Time Manipulationno price14 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Time Manipulationno price13 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle Platformer + Time Manipulationno price12 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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