Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
PvP + Cute: a typical launch earns $909 in its first year
That is the median of 72 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 129 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 4% on the year before: 100 against 96.
- Price
- $909 median of 72 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +49.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 100 96 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 265 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 691 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. | 0.06%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.04% to 0.10% | 13 ranked of 266 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,258 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 1.15x | 129 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,680 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +36%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +10% to +69% | 18 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #366 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +4%review growth against same-age games | −3% to +11% | 18 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,757 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
- 129
- Hit rate
- 3.9%0.7% to 8.7%
- Expected rate
- 6.4%
- Against expected
- 0.71x0.48x to 1.15x
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
129 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
- $607
- Top tenth
- $13,290
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
- +4%
- Against Steam
- −23%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.
- Backyard Baseball (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,264 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1M
- TETRIS® THE GRAND MASTER 4 -ABSOLUTE EYE- (opens the Steam store)2025 · 615 reviews, 87% positiveest. $311k
- Flash Doll (opens the Steam store)2024 · 861 reviews, 80% positiveest. $157k
- Monster Battles (opens the Steam store)2025 · 466 reviews, 73% positiveest. $141k
- College Bowl (opens the Steam store)2024 · 265 reviews, 84% positiveest. $134k
- Garfield Kart 2 - All You Can Drift (opens the Steam store)2025 · 216 reviews, 45% positiveest. $109k
- hololive Holo's Hanafuda (opens the Steam store)2025 · 152 reviews, 80% positiveest. $77k
- Anode Heart: Layer Null (opens the Steam store)2024 · 228 reviews, 91% positiveest. $74k
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
- Simulation + PvP$81051 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + PvP$80934 launches priced, 135 releases in 12 months
More with Cute
pairs with Cute- Open World + Cute$5,88634 launches priced, 33 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Romance$5,22277 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Cute$3,396163 launches priced, 188 releases in 12 months
- Cute + LGBTQ+$2,97434 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Cute$2,84651 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Cute$2,798212 launches priced, 288 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.