Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Side Scroller + Pixel Graphics: a typical launch earns $464 in its first year

That is the median of 158 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 15 of 319 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 17.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 13% on the year before: 216 against 191.

Price: $464
Price vs a year earlier: −38.0%
Releases, 12 months: 216
Upcoming games: 525
Games on the store: 1,777

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.

Side Scroller + Pixel Graphics 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.	0.31%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.22% to 0.42%	54 ranked of 525 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#740 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	0.86xhits against expected	0.62x to 1.22x	319 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#3,676 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure	+28%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+4% to +56%	61 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#547 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	+7%review growth against same-age games	−5% to +20%	61 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,653 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: 15
Expected: 17.9

Launches: 319
Hit rate: 4.7%3.2% to 8.3%
Expected rate: 5.6%
Against expected: 0.86x0.62x to 1.22x

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

319 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: $566
Top tenth: $33,837

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: 216
Prior 12 months: 191

Change: +13%
Against Steam: −17%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Side ScrollerNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
Pixel GraphicsNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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 Side Scroller

pairs with Side Scroller

Metroidvania + Side Scroller$2,22542 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
Side Scroller + Female Protagonist$2,18344 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
Side Scroller + Difficult$1,56744 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
Hack and Slash + Side Scroller$1,41534 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
Side Scroller + Action RPG$1,06132 launches priced, 36 releases in 12 months
Side Scroller + Beat 'em up$81039 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Side Scroller

More with Pixel Graphics

pairs with Pixel Graphics

Pixel Graphics + Tactical RPG$3,27132 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
Metroidvania + Pixel Graphics$2,73164 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Turn-Based Combat$2,18391 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Collectathon$1,85847 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Pixel Graphics$1,849182 launches priced, 221 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Female Protagonist$1,69299 launches priced, 140 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Pixel Graphics

Verdicts

in development

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