Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Story Rich / Survival Horror
Story Rich + Survival Horror: a typical launch earns $2,870 in its first year
That is the median of 60 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 14 of 134 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 9.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 36% on the year before: 95 against 70.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $2,870 median of 60 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −37.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 95 70 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 317 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 672 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. | 0.47%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.23% to 0.78% | 43 ranked of 317 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #506 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 | 1.00x to 1.96x | 134 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #998 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +15%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −17% to +38% | 33 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #936 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +13%review growth against same-age games | +1% to +25% | 33 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #182 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
- 134
- Hit rate
- 10.4%5.5% to 16.5%
- Expected rate
- 6.9%
- Against expected
- 1.39x1.00x to 1.96x
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
134 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
- $161
- Median
- $3,079
- Top tenth
- $104,140
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
- +36%
- Against Steam
- −2%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.
- Survival HorrorGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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.
- Pacific Drive (opens the Steam store)2024 · 21,607 reviews, 83% positiveest. $13M
- Enigma of Fear (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,095 reviews, 95% positiveest. $1.9M
- Pathologic 3 (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,532 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1.8M
- A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,344 reviews, 75% positiveest. $1.4M
- Silly Polly Beast (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,297 reviews, 90% positiveest. $864k
- The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,522 reviews, 93% positiveest. $821k
- Stygian: Outer Gods (opens the Steam store)2025 · 517 reviews, 80% positiveest. $262k
- Dead Take (opens the Steam store)2025 · 754 reviews, 87% positiveest. $229k
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 Survival Horror
pairs with Survival Horror- Co-op + Survival Horror$5,09540 launches priced, 60 releases in 12 months
- Online Co-Op + Survival Horror$4,34762 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
- Survival Horror + Supernatural$2,54732 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
- Multiplayer + Survival Horror$2,12251 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Survival Horror + Walking Simulator$1,33358 launches priced, 74 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Survival Horror$1,213231 launches priced, 319 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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