Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Strategy + Shooter: a typical launch earns $162 in its first year
That is the median of 118 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 214 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 7.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 9% on the year before: 139 against 152.
- Price
- $162 median of 118 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −46.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 139 152 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 431 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,264 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. | 0.14%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.09% to 0.20% | 21 ranked of 431 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,384 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.86xhits against expected | 0.58x to 1.38x | 214 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,687 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +66%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +32% to +96% | 32 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #76 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +12%review growth against same-age games | +2% to +23% | 32 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #195 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
- 214
- Hit rate
- 2.8%1.4% to 5.0%
- Expected rate
- 3.5%
- Against expected
- 0.86x0.58x to 1.38x
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
214 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
- $0
- Median
- $164
- Top tenth
- $4,089
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
- −9%
- Against Steam
- −32%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
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.
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam (opens the Steam store)2026 · 11,087 reviews, 61% positiveest. $8.9M
Gallipoli (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,191 reviews, 77% positiveest. $2.5M
Pass the Fear (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,064 reviews, 79% positiveest. $727k
Children of the Sun (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,010 reviews, 92% positiveest. $610k
Wild Bastards (opens the Steam store)2024 · 620 reviews, 74% positiveest. $439k
Moros Protocol (opens the Steam store)2025 · 753 reviews, 81% positiveest. $381k
Cluckmech Oasis (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,083 reviews, 87% positiveest. $363k
Outhold (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,826 reviews, 86% positiveest. $258k
More with Strategy
pairs with Strategy- Strategy + Roguelike Deckbuilder$8,599104 launches priced, 217 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Base Building$6,139160 launches priced, 260 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Turn-Based$5,85566 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Historical$4,25980 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Party-Based RPG$3,88255 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Story Rich$3,64284 launches priced, 149 releases in 12 months
More with Shooter
pairs with Shooter- Shooter + Cyberpunk$2,57936 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Shooter$2,36739 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Shooter + Online Co-Op$2,19432 launches priced, 60 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + Shooter$1,82139 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Shooter + Old School$1,55845 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Shooter + Gore$1,46646 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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