Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Visual Novel / 3D
Visual Novel + 3D: a typical launch earns $554 in its first year
That is the median of 53 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 10 of 101 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 13% on the year before: 78 against 69.
- Price
- $554 median of 53 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −21.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 78 69 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 188 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 486 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. | 0.07%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.03% to 0.11% | 15 ranked of 188 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,118 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.10xhits against expected | 0.77x to 1.62x | 101 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,186 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +3%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −25% to +41% | 22 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,332 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −17%review growth against same-age games | −33% to −1% | 22 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,457 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
- 101
- Hit rate
- 9.9%4.4% to 16.2%
- Expected rate
- 8.7%
- Against expected
- 1.10x0.77x to 1.62x
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
101 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
- $484
- Top tenth
- $86,313
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
- +13%
- Against Steam
- −19%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Visual NovelGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- 3DNot 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.
- 1000xRESIST (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,342 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2.2M
- Promise Mascot Agency (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,579 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.3M
- Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,195 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1.2M
- No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES (opens the Steam store)2025 · 841 reviews, 79% positiveest. $681k
- Syberia - Remastered (opens the Steam store)2025 · 732 reviews, 70% positiveest. $445k
- Whispers from the Star (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,663 reviews, 80% positiveest. $336k
- Winion Virus (opens the Steam store)2024 · 982 reviews, 94% positiveest. $219k
- Dark Auction (opens the Steam store)2026 · 210 reviews, 63% positiveest. $149k
More with Visual Novel
pairs with Visual Novel- Visual Novel + FMV$65,06531 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + LGBTQ+$6,05083 launches priced, 159 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Detective$5,29368 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Investigation$4,88542 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Immersive Sim$4,55364 launches priced, 115 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Romance$3,639179 launches priced, 277 releases in 12 months
More with 3D
pairs with 3D- 3D + Dark Humor$3,90132 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Cozy$3,23738 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Economy$3,15761 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Management$2,196130 launches priced, 192 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + 3D$2,162144 launches priced, 256 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Resource Management$2,02434 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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