Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Word Game + Text-Based: a typical launch earns $600 in its first year

That is the median of 41 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 4 of 87 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 2.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 79% on the year before: 86 against 48.

Price: $600
Price vs a year earlier: +183.9%
Releases, 12 months: 86
Upcoming games: 114
Games on the store: 410

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

Word Game + Text-Based on each board
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.	1.41xhits against expected	0.97x to 2.34x	87 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#953 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese	−33%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−52% to −8%	18 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,203 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese Listed after unflagged rows on this board	−15%review growth against same-age games	−29% to −4%	18 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#2,453 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 old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 4
Expected: 2.0

Launches: 87
Hit rate: 4.6%1.2% to 8.2%
Expected rate: 2.2%
Against expected: 1.41x0.97x to 2.34x

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

87 launches

Estimated 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: $405
Top tenth: $17,343

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 86
Prior 12 months: 48

Change: +79%
Against Steam: +27%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Word GameGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Text-BasedNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The 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.

More with Word Game

pairs with Word Game

Cute + Word Game$1,78831 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
Visual Novel + Word Game$88759 launches priced, 112 releases in 12 months
Word Game + Spelling$84833 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
Interactive Fiction + Word Game$79046 launches priced, 89 releases in 12 months
RPG + Word Game$77068 launches priced, 119 releases in 12 months
Adventure + Word Game$73147 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Word Game

More with Text-Based

pairs with Text-Based

Horror + Text-Based$2,83130 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
Anime + Text-Based$2,10148 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Text-Based$1,71867 launches priced, 149 releases in 12 months
Cute + Text-Based$1,36644 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
Choices Matter + Text-Based$1,20374 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
Interactive Fiction + Text-Based$1,13396 launches priced, 190 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Text-Based

Verdicts

in development

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