Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Story Rich / Choices Matter
Story Rich + Choices Matter: a typical launch earns $3,038 in its first year
That is the median of 225 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 64 of 436 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 42.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 34% on the year before: 352 against 262.
- Price
- $3,038 median of 225 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −53.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 352 262 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,342 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,930 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. | 1.76%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 1.11% to 2.72% | 192 ranked of 1,342 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #128 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.48xhits against expected | 1.23x to 1.77x | 436 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #785 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +9%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −6% to +27% | 184 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,126 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +8%review growth against same-age games | +2% to +14% | 184 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #386 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
- 436
- Hit rate
- 14.7%11.7% to 19.8%
- Expected rate
- 9.7%
- Against expected
- 1.48x1.23x to 1.77x
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
436 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
- $101
- Median
- $2,832
- Top tenth
- $221,654
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
- +34%
- Against Steam
- −1%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Story RichNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Choices MatterNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
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.
Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut (opens the Steam store)2023 · 32,257 reviews, 96% positiveest. $11M
The Coffin of Andy and Leyley (opens the Steam store)2023 · 36,744 reviews, 96% positiveest. $8.5M
No, I'm not a Human (opens the Steam store)2025 · 27,403 reviews, 93% positiveest. $8.2M
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,898 reviews, 86% positiveest. $4.7M
Esoteric Ebb (opens the Steam store)2026 · 8,843 reviews, 95% positiveest. $4.4M
The Casting of Frank Stone™ (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,599 reviews, 62% positiveest. $3.3M
Back to the Dawn (opens the Steam store)2023 · 8,575 reviews, 94% positiveest. $2.8M
The Thaumaturge (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,918 reviews, 81% positiveest. $2.6M
More with Story Rich
pairs with Story Rich- Story Rich + Narrative$13,10440 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Historical$9,68533 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Investigation$8,90370 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based Strategy + Story Rich$8,09741 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Supernatural$5,82533 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Dating Sim$5,71476 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
More with Choices Matter
pairs with Choices Matter- Choices Matter + Management$6,87135 launches priced, 79 releases in 12 months
- Mystery + Choices Matter$6,00949 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
- Choices Matter + Dating Sim$4,06442 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Choices Matter$3,339128 launches priced, 212 releases in 12 months
- Character Customization + Choices Matter$3,15735 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
- Romance + Choices Matter$2,91447 launches priced, 81 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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