Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Retro + 2D Platformer: a typical launch earns $485 in its first year

That is the median of 109 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 11 of 221 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 10.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 8% on the year before: 136 against 126.

Price: $485
Price vs a year earlier: −65.8%
Releases, 12 months: 136
Upcoming games: 243
Games on the store: 1,056

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.

Retro + 2D Platformer 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. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	0.07%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.03% to 0.12%	14 ranked of 243 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#6,005 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.02xhits against expected	0.71x to 1.50x	221 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,696 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+32%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+7% to +65%	28 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#455 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+5%review growth against same-age games	−6% to +18%	28 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#587 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: 11
Expected: 10.8

Launches: 221
Hit rate: 5.0%2.3% to 9.1%
Expected rate: 4.9%
Against expected: 1.02x0.71x to 1.50x

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

221 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: $0
Median: $606
Top tenth: $28,146

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: 136
Prior 12 months: 126

Change: +8%
Against Steam: −21%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

RetroNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
2D PlatformerGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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 Retro

pairs with Retro

Story Rich + Retro$3,28551 launches priced, 77 releases in 12 months
Psychological Horror + Retro$1,59566 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
Horror + Retro$1,574105 launches priced, 151 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Retro$1,45461 launches priced, 124 releases in 12 months
Retro + 1990's$1,41683 launches priced, 147 releases in 12 months
Retro + Mystery$1,40436 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Retro

More with 2D Platformer

pairs with 2D Platformer

Metroidvania + 2D Platformer$1,78091 launches priced, 107 releases in 12 months
Anime + 2D Platformer$1,17390 launches priced, 113 releases in 12 months
2D Platformer + Souls-like$96931 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
Sci-fi + 2D Platformer$84935 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
2D Platformer + Female Protagonist$84281 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
Hack and Slash + 2D Platformer$72841 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months

Every pair with 2D Platformer

Verdicts

in development

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