Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
RPG + Word Game: a typical launch earns $770 in its first year
That is the median of 68 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 4 of 137 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 7.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 47% on the year before: 119 against 81.
- China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
- Price
- $770 median of 68 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +73.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 119 81 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 256 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 663 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 | 0.05% to 0.07% | 18 ranked of 256 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,357 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.65xhits against expected | 0.45x to 1.09x | 137 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #6,278 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −8%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −25% to +26% | 30 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,675 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −2%review growth against same-age games | −10% to +7% | 30 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,098 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
- 137
- Hit rate
- 2.9%1.4% to 6.7%
- Expected rate
- 5.6%
- Against expected
- 0.65x0.45x to 1.09x
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
137 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
- $800
- Top tenth
- $26,537
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
- +47%
- Against Steam
- +6%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.
- Sweet Home (opens the Steam store)2025 · 10,073 reviews, 94% positiveest. $919k
- Cryptmaster (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,673 reviews, 94% positiveest. $847k
- 月华辉映之刻 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,238 reviews, 89% positiveest. $574k
- Aliya: Timelink (opens the Steam store)2024 · 8,610 reviews, 97% positiveest. $303k
- NICE TO MEET YOU, AGAIN (opens the Steam store)2026 · 339 reviews, 97% positiveest. $172k
- Paper Bride 5 Two Lifetimes (opens the Steam store)2023 · 607 reviews, 84% positiveest. $123k
- Stiff Neck (opens the Steam store)2026 · 966 reviews, 81% positiveest. $75k
- Paper Bride 6 Nightmare (opens the Steam store)2024 · 371 reviews, 81% positiveest. $75k
More with RPG
pairs with RPG- RPG + FMV$25,57938 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Base Building$17,28632 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Farming Sim$8,78948 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Difficult$8,09240 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Resource Management$8,05030 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Dating Sim$6,63993 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
More with Word Game
pairs with Word Game- Cute + Word Game$1,78831 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Word Game$88759 launches priced, 112 releases in 12 months
- Word Game + Spelling$84833 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Interactive Fiction + Word Game$79046 launches priced, 89 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Word Game$73147 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
- Typing + Word Game$63638 launches priced, 72 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.