Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Story Rich / Sci-fi
Story Rich + Sci-fi: a typical launch earns $1,617 in its first year
That is the median of 86 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 24 of 173 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 17.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 16% on the year before: 117 against 101.
- Price
- $1,617 median of 86 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −50.1% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 117 101 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 452 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,157 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.
| 1.78%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.58% to 3.73% | 66 ranked of 452 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,067 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.33xhits against expected | 1.01x to 1.74x | 173 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,248 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +23%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −2% to +60% | 69 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #676 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +5%review growth against same-age games | −3% to +12% | 69 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #609 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
- 173
- Hit rate
- 13.9%7.6% to 20.2%
- Expected rate
- 10.0%
- Against expected
- 1.33x1.01x 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
173 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
- $44
- Median
- $1,819
- Top tenth
- $137,966
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
- +16%
- Against Steam
- −15%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.
- Sci-fiNot 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
The Talos Principle 2 (opens the Steam store)2023 · 12,503 reviews, 94% positiveest. $7.5M
1000xRESIST (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,342 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2.2M
The Drifter (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,763 reviews, 97% positiveest. $1.9M
Peripeteia (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,141 reviews, 86% positiveest. $1.6M
KARMA: The Dark World (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,979 reviews, 90% positiveest. $1.6M
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,374 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.2M
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 Sci-fi
pairs with Sci-fi- Sci-fi + Anime$4,24936 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Sci-fi + Cyberpunk$3,08346 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- Sci-fi + Cute$1,80330 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Sci-fi$1,61665 launches priced, 76 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Sci-fi$1,457125 launches priced, 163 releases in 12 months
- FPS + Sci-fi$1,41661 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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