Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Puzzle + Wholesome: a typical launch earns $865 in its first year

That is the median of 107 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 8 of 209 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 24% on the year before: 151 against 122.

Price: $865
Price vs a year earlier: −60.4%
Releases, 12 months: 151
Upcoming games: 138
Games on the store: 566

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

Puzzle + Wholesome on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.	0.08%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.05% to 0.10%	19 ranked of 138 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#2,085 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.40xhits against expected	0.96x to 2.15x	209 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#996 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+2%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−20% to +23%	81 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,384 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−8%review growth against same-age games	−13% to −3%	81 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,175 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 old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 8
Expected: 4.9

Launches: 209
Hit rate: 3.8%2.3% to 7.8%
Expected rate: 2.3%
Against expected: 1.40x0.96x to 2.15x

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

209 launches

Estimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.

Bottom tenth: $361
Median: $1,131
Top tenth: $19,372

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 151
Prior 12 months: 122

Change: +24%
Against Steam: −9%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

PuzzleGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
WholesomeNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The 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.

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

Every pair with Puzzle

More with Wholesome

pairs with Wholesome

Cozy + Wholesome$1,797128 launches priced, 213 releases in 12 months
Point & Click + Wholesome$1,77343 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
Relaxing + Wholesome$1,572131 launches priced, 208 releases in 12 months
Cute + Wholesome$1,454129 launches priced, 189 releases in 12 months
Casual + Wholesome$1,117132 launches priced, 229 releases in 12 months
Cats + Wholesome$88478 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Wholesome

Verdicts

in development

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