Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Story Rich / Dark Humor
Story Rich + Dark Humor: a typical launch earns $3,935 in its first year
That is the median of 50 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 13 of 83 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 7.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 14% on the year before: 49 against 57.
- Price
- $3,935 median of 50 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +28.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 49 57 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 170 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 422 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. | 0.30%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.18% to 0.47% | 31 ranked of 170 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #754 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.60xhits against expected | 1.15x to 2.24x | 83 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #546 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +41%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +1% to +89% | 27 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #287 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −9%review growth against same-age games | −19% to +2% | 27 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,276 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
- 83
- Hit rate
- 15.7%7.5% to 26.5%
- Expected rate
- 8.4%
- Against expected
- 1.60x1.15x to 2.24x
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
83 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
- $48
- Median
- $2,428
- Top tenth
- $185,056
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
- −14%
- Against Steam
- −36%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.
- Dark HumorNot 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.
- Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,204 reviews, 92% positiveest. $819k
- NUKITASHI 2 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,591 reviews, 98% positiveest. $798k
- Kindergarten 3 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,783 reviews, 94% positiveest. $722k
- DevilConnection (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,962 reviews, 98% positiveest. $662k
- Agefield High: Rock the School (opens the Steam store)2026 · 967 reviews, 36% positiveest. $587k
- Monster Prom 4: Monster Con (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,897 reviews, 98% positiveest. $576k
- Dimhaven - The Lost Source (opens the Steam store)2026 · 960 reviews, 86% positiveest. $505k
- Demonschool (opens the Steam store)2025 · 986 reviews, 91% positiveest. $499k
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 Dark Humor
pairs with Dark Humor- First-Person + Dark Humor$4,27530 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Dark Humor$3,90132 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Dark Humor$2,36533 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Dark Humor$2,02142 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Dark Humor$1,87830 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Funny + Dark Humor$1,72662 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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