Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Relaxing + Arcade: a typical launch earns $181 in its first year
That is the median of 142 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 300 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 7.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 75% on the year before: 275 against 157.
- Price
- $181 median of 142 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +0.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 275 157 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 323 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,212 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. | 0.15%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.11% to 0.21% | 21 ranked of 323 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,283 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.16xhits against expected | 0.80x to 1.76x | 300 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,933 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −33%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −46% to −22% | 19 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,202 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −15%review growth against same-age games | −22% to −6% | 19 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,464 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
- 300
- Hit rate
- 3.0%2.0% to 5.8%
- Expected rate
- 2.5%
- Against expected
- 1.16x0.80x to 1.76x
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
300 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
- $202
- Top tenth
- $4,832
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
- +75%
- Against Steam
- +28%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.
- Scritchy Scratchy (opens the Steam store)2026 · 15,717 reviews, 94% positiveest. $2.1M
- Shelldiver (opens the Steam store)2025 · 16,989 reviews, 98% positiveest. $1.4M
- Nodebuster (opens the Steam store)2024 · 13,866 reviews, 97% positiveest. $840k
- Keep on Mining! (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,322 reviews, 93% positiveest. $827k
- Scale the Depths (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,936 reviews, 88% positiveest. $392k
- Outhold (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,826 reviews, 86% positiveest. $258k
- Click and Conquer (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,465 reviews, 92% positiveest. $249k
- A Bumpy Ride (opens the Steam store)2026 · 575 reviews, 97% positiveest. $175k
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 Arcade
pairs with Arcade- Co-op + Arcade$1,37646 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Twin Stick Shooter$1,01169 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Female Protagonist$96168 launches priced, 82 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Local Co-Op$96050 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Anime$91052 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Difficult$80679 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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