Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Story Rich / First-Person
Story Rich + First-Person: a typical launch earns $1,942 in its first year
That is the median of 221 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 40 of 426 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 28.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 12% on the year before: 290 against 258.
- Price
- $1,942 median of 221 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +14.5% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 290 258 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 923 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,199 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.
| 3.44%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 1.26% to 6.95% | 102 ranked of 923 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #3,934 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.39xhits against expected | 1.10x to 1.74x | 426 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,020 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +40%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +23% to +65% | 108 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #297 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +16%review growth against same-age games | +8% to +28% | 108 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #86 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
- 426
- Hit rate
- 9.4%4.9% to 12.6%
- Expected rate
- 6.6%
- Against expected
- 1.39x1.10x to 1.74x
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
426 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
- $121
- Median
- $1,938
- Top tenth
- $79,924
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
- +12%
- Against Steam
- −17%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.
- First-PersonNot 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.
RoboCop: Rogue City (opens the Steam store)2023 · 28,380 reviews, 86% positiveest. $22M
Pacific Drive (opens the Steam store)2024 · 21,607 reviews, 83% positiveest. $13M
Blue Prince (opens the Steam store)2025 · 17,606 reviews, 85% positiveest. $11M
No, I'm not a Human (opens the Steam store)2025 · 27,403 reviews, 93% positiveest. $8.2M
Still Wakes the Deep (opens the Steam store)2024 · 11,274 reviews, 87% positiveest. $7.8M
The Talos Principle 2 (opens the Steam store)2023 · 12,503 reviews, 94% positiveest. $7.5M
RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,972 reviews, 84% positiveest. $2.3M
Riven (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,773 reviews, 92% positiveest. $2M
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 First-Person
pairs with First-Person- Co-op + First-Person$11,81190 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Economy$9,96156 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
- Building + First-Person$7,38241 launches priced, 60 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Management$7,08093 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + First-Person$6,99934 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Online Co-Op$5,747102 launches priced, 173 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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