Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Puzzle / Turn-Based Strategy
Puzzle + Turn-Based Strategy: a typical launch earns $911 in its first year
That is the median of 61 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 137 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 48% on the year before: 108 against 73.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $911 median of 61 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −14.5% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 108 73 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 208 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 651 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. | 0.04%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.02% to 0.06% | 9 ranked of 208 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,896 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.71xhits against expected | 0.48x to 1.16x | 137 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,664 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
- 137
- Hit rate
- 3.6%1.6% to 6.8%
- Expected rate
- 6.0%
- Against expected
- 0.71x0.48x to 1.16x
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
137 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
- $848
- Top tenth
- $13,981
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.
- Turn-Based StrategyGenre 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.
- Tactical Breach Wizards (opens the Steam store)2024 · 11,510 reviews, 97% positiveest. $4.6M
- SteamWorld Heist II (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,214 reviews, 93% positiveest. $1.3M
- Rogue Waters (opens the Steam store)2024 · 975 reviews, 75% positiveest. $592k
- Dawnfolk (opens the Steam store)2025 · 667 reviews, 94% positiveest. $202k
- Preserve (opens the Steam store)2024 · 696 reviews, 92% positiveest. $176k
- Roots of Yggdrasil (opens the Steam store)2024 · 300 reviews, 85% positiveest. $121k
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown (opens the Steam store)2025 · 160 reviews, 89% positiveest. $65k
- Anoxia Station (opens the Steam store)2025 · 179 reviews, 76% positiveest. $54k
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 Turn-Based Strategy
pairs with Turn-Based Strategy- Turn-Based Strategy + Story Rich$8,09741 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based Strategy + Roguelike Deckbuilder$7,14342 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based + Turn-Based Strategy$5,79134 launches priced, 60 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based Strategy + Historical$4,04836 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
- War + Turn-Based Strategy$3,84640 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based Strategy + Deckbuilding$3,05388 launches priced, 169 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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