Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
PvP + Combat: a typical launch earns $404 in its first year
That is the median of 34 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 4 of 82 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 20% on the year before: 83 against 69.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $404 median of 34 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −66.4% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 83 69 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 310 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 643 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.
| 0.21%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.07% to 0.40% | 14 ranked of 310 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #5,035 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.84xhits against expected | 0.58x to 1.39x | 82 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,835 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +22%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −11% to +69% | 16 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #705 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +7%review growth against same-age games | −6% to +17% | 16 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,639 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
- 82
- Hit rate
- 4.9%2.3% to 11.0%
- Expected rate
- 6.5%
- Against expected
- 0.84x0.58x to 1.39x
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
82 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
- $414
- Top tenth
- $16,461
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
- +20%
- Against Steam
- −12%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.
- WARDOGS (opens the Steam store)2026 · 84,875 reviews, 76% positiveest. $67M
- Gigantic: Rampage Edition (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,796 reviews, 64% positiveest. $1.5M
- Mage Arena (opens the Steam store)2025 · 17,821 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.1M
- Brickadia (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,270 reviews, 81% positiveest. $514k
- Checkmate Showdown (opens the Steam store)2023 · 193 reviews, 79% positiveest. $78k
- Into Black (opens the Steam store)2025 · 125 reviews, 87% positiveest. $76k
- Virtual Fighter Maneuvers (opens the Steam store)2025 · 141 reviews, 95% positiveest. $43k
- Elements Divided (opens the Steam store)2025 · 139 reviews, 87% positiveest. $42k
More with PvP
pairs with PvP- RPG + PvP$1,53738 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
- PvP + Funny$1,11269 launches priced, 197 releases in 12 months
- PvP + Party Game$1,11243 launches priced, 282 releases in 12 months
- Sports + PvP$92876 launches priced, 150 releases in 12 months
- PvP + Cute$90972 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + PvP$81051 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
More with Combat
pairs with Combat- Combat + Action RPG$1,57755 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Combat$1,20546 launches priced, 87 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Combat$1,17356 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + Combat$80946 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Combat + Beat 'em up$80933 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Combat$76896 launches priced, 139 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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