Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Relaxing + 2D: a typical launch earns $283 in its first year
That is the median of 481 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 19 of 966 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 21.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 52% on the year before: 832 against 547.
- Price
- $283 median of 481 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −22.2% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 832 547 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,049 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 3,977 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. | 0.19%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.15% to 0.23% | 39 ranked of 1,051 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,112 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.88xhits against expected | 0.65x to 1.23x | 966 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,513 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −16%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −24% to −3% | 111 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,904 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −6%review growth against same-age games | −14% to 0% | 111 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,088 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
- 966
- Hit rate
- 2.0%0.5% to 3.8%
- Expected rate
- 2.3%
- Against expected
- 0.88x0.65x to 1.23x
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
965 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
- $283
- Top tenth
- $7,174
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
- +52%
- 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.
- Shelldiver (opens the Steam store)2025 · 16,989 reviews, 98% positiveest. $1.4M
- Lost and Found Co. (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,776 reviews, 96% positiveest. $890k
- Nodebuster (opens the Steam store)2024 · 13,866 reviews, 97% positiveest. $840k
- A Game About Feeding A Black Hole (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,501 reviews, 88% positiveest. $481k
- Demon Lord: Just a Block (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,089 reviews, 96% positiveest. $337k
- Proverbs (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,812 reviews, 96% positiveest. $330k
- and Roger (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,774 reviews, 94% positiveest. $280k
- Fischer's Fishing Journey (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,582 reviews, 91% positiveest. $256k
More with Relaxing
pairs with Relaxing- Relaxing + Economy$7,82849 launches priced, 115 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Open World$3,43945 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Building + Relaxing$3,39787 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Management$3,154101 launches priced, 233 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Farming Sim$2,87450 launches priced, 106 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Crafting$2,42950 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
More with 2D
pairs with 2D- 2D + Roguelike Deckbuilder$6,77234 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Romance$3,28176 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
- War + 2D$3,16035 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Dating Sim$2,55991 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
- 2D + LGBTQ+$2,46550 launches priced, 85 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Historical$2,32474 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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