Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Top-Down / Score Attack
Top-Down + Score Attack: a typical launch earns $111 in its first year
That is the median of 31 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 1 of 52 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 1.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 46% on the year before: 51 against 35.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $111 median of 31 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −47.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 51 35 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 54 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 247 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. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 5 or more wishlist-ranked upcoming games. | |||
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.82xhits against expected | 0.66x to 1.50x | 52 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,935 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
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
- 52
- Hit rate
- 1.9%0.0% to 5.8%
- Expected rate
- 3.5%
- Against expected
- 0.82x0.66x to 1.50x
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
52 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
- $161
- Top tenth
- $3,028
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
- +46%
Parent tags
- Top-DownNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Score AttackNot 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.
- Monsters are Coming! (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,746 reviews, 79% positiveest. $473k
- DoDonPachi Resurrection Reignite (opens the Steam store)2026 · 157 reviews, 42% positiveest. $79k
- NIDUS (opens the Steam store)2024 · 223 reviews, 93% positiveest. $41k
- SHINONOME ABYSS The Maiden Exorcist (opens the Steam store)2026 · 56 reviews, 78% positiveest. $17k
- Castle of Shikigami 3 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 15 reviews, 86% positiveest. $1k to $10k
- Lichgate: Tower Survivor (opens the Steam store)2026 · 57 reviews, 75% positiveest. $8.1k
- Filthium Zero (opens the Steam store)2026 · 28 reviews, 89% positiveest. $1k to $10k
- Z-GYUBAAN! (opens the Steam store)2026 · 16 reviews, 68% positiveest. $1k to $10k
More with Top-Down
pairs with Top-Down- Wargame + Top-Down$1,70031 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
- City Builder + Top-Down$1,55732 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
- Top-Down + Female Protagonist$1,09231 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Twin Stick Shooter + Top-Down$1,01140 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Top-Down$707143 launches priced, 271 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Top-Down$68543 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
More with Score Attack
pairs with Score Attack- Shoot 'Em Up + Score Attack$67730 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- Shooter + Score Attack$40543 launches priced, 67 releases in 12 months
- Physics + Score Attack$40535 launches priced, 67 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Score Attack$38332 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
- Bullet Hell + Score Attack$34438 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Score Attack$32331 launches priced, 41 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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