Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Visual Novel / Anime
Visual Novel + Anime: a typical launch earns $2,834 in its first year
That is the median of 296 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 47 of 569 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 68.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 19% on the year before: 434 against 366.
- China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
- Price
- $2,834 median of 296 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −20.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 434 366 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 914 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 3,246 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. | 0.67%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.44% to 0.86% | 103 ranked of 914 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #359 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.70xhits against expected | 0.56x to 0.87x | 569 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #6,259 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 | +9% to +41% | 200 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #685 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +7%review growth against same-age games | −3% to +15% | 200 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #494 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
- 569
- Hit rate
- 8.3%8.0% to 13.9%
- Expected rate
- 12.0%
- Against expected
- 0.70x0.56x to 0.87x
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
569 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
- $22
- Median
- $2,425
- Top tenth
- $73,978
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
- +19%
- Against Steam
- −13%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Visual NovelGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- AnimeNot 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.
The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty (opens the Steam store)2024 · 49,862 reviews, 94% positiveest. $5.8M
WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT (opens the Steam store)2023 · 7,312 reviews, 98% positiveest. $4.1M
UNBEATABLE (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,647 reviews, 92% positiveest. $3.8M
Chill with You : Lo-Fi Story (opens the Steam store)2025 · 12,357 reviews, 98% positiveest. $2.1M
Magical Princess (opens the Steam store)2026 · 7,728 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.7M
Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,003 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.3M
HENPRI (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,952 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.2M
Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,195 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1.2M
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 Anime
pairs with Anime- Anime + Mystery$5,55743 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
- Anime + Romance$4,97896 launches priced, 120 releases in 12 months
- Anime + LGBTQ+$4,70538 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Anime + Multiple Endings$4,54757 launches priced, 118 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Anime$4,38831 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Anime$4,27333 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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