Genres

Every genre, screened by how often its indie launches earned $100k or more in their first year. Pick your price first: price moves the odds more than genre does.

Indie paid Steam launches 12 to 36 months old, data 3 Oct 2026. A hit is an estimated first year of $100k+. Earnings are sales on Steam after discounts and regional prices, before Steam's 30% cut, refunds and sales tax. About 58% of it reaches the developer. The revenue estimate is soft: about 5 to 8 in 100 launches overall.

Best niches

$10 to $20

Pairs with the best chance of $100k+, above the base rateFree until launch

Building + Life Simabout 3.2 times the 18 in 100 base rate57 in 100

1Building + Life Sim57 in 10030 launches 2Cinematic + Story Rich52 in 10031 launches 3Cozy + Relaxing51 in 10055 launches 4Casual + Cozy50 in 10050 launches 5Online Co-Op + Simulation50 in 10032 launches

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Best nichesFree until launchClick to unlockTag pairs that beat the odds

The genre list

Price $10 to $20

All prices1 in 17 hit $100k+Under $51 in 219 hit $100k+$5 to $101 in 30 hit $100k+$10 to $2018 in 100 hit $100k+$20 to $4040 in 100 hit $100k+

Base rate: indie paid launches 12 to 36 months old, 26,280 launches. Odds compare best within one price.

Lens Standard

Standard West-facing view Without the breakout Last 18 months

All indie paid launches 12 to 36 months old. Lenses are computed across all prices only so far, so a lens reads All prices.

Sample 10+

10+ launchesshow small samples 30+ launches 100+ launchesonly big markets

Hides anything measured on fewer launches.

$10 to $20 Reset

Best odds at my priceChance of $100k+, read within one price band.Now: Shop Keeper, 49 in 100. 156 match.Steady marketsHolds in every lens and no single game owns it.Now: Online Co-Op, 35 in 100. 67 match.Biggest typical yearWhat the middle launch earned, highest first.Now: Shop Keeper, $92,344 typical. 156 match.Biggest upsideWhat the top tenth earned at least.Now: Co-op, $774k top 1 in 10. 118 match.Proven at scale100+ launches and above the base rate.Now: Cozy, 44 in 100. 38 match.Busiest marketsMost launches first: where the competition is.Now: Simulation, 876 launches. 156 match.

Hide one-hit markets37 out Hide small samples115 out

233 of 256 genres have 10+ launches at $10 to $20. Sorted by chance of $100k+, lowest first.

Parody 3 of 16 earned $100k+ at $10 to $20typical $5,171 Small

Management 30 in 100 earned $100k+, from 298 launches at $10 to $20typical $31,612. Best of the pins none

Steampunk 2 of 20 earned $100k+ at $10 to $20typical $12,582 Small

Genres at $10 to $20, sorted by chance of $100k+. The first row is the base rate.
Rank#	Genre	Chance of $100k+	Typical year	Top 1 in 10	Launches	Markers	Pin
	All games at $10 to $20the base rate: the row to beat	18 in 100758 of 4,301	$8,234	$217,858	4,301
1	6DOFnone of 18 launches earned $100k+	0 of 18no hits	$1,013	$33,643	18	Small	Pin 6DOF
2	Archerynone of 13 launches earned $100k+	0 of 13no hits	$706	$36,777	13	1-hitSmall	Pin Archery
3	On-Rails Shooternone of 13 launches earned $100k+	0 of 13no hits	$3,734	$9,369	13	Small	Pin On-Rails Shooter
4	Spellingnone of 10 launches earned $100k+	0 of 10no hits	$2,214	$27,949	10	Small	Pin Spelling
5	Aliens1 of 37 launches earned $100k+	1 of 371 hit	$4,516	$84,277	37	Small	Pin Aliens
6	4 Player Local2 of 49 launches earned $100k+	2 of 492 hits	$4,022	$41,962	49	Small	Pin 4 Player Local
7	VR1 in 24 earned $100k+, from 195 launches	1 in 248 hits	$2,650	$33,643	195	none	Pin VR
8	Solitaire1 of 23 launches earned $100k+	1 of 231 hit	$2,497	$16,148	23	1-hitSmall	Pin Solitaire
9	Hidden Object1 in 19 earned $100k+, from 173 launches	1 in 199 hits	$1,532	$41,277	173	none	Pin Hidden Object
10	Mystery Dungeon2 of 38 launches earned $100k+	2 of 382 hits	$2,854	$42,492	38	Small	Pin Mystery Dungeon
11	Puzzle Platformer1 in 19 earned $100k+, from 131 launches	1 in 197 hits	$4,322	$51,139	131	Audience	Pin Puzzle Platformer
12	Grand Strategy3 of 52 launches earned $100k+	3 of 523 hits	$4,706	$53,415	52	1-hit	Pin Grand Strategy
13	Match 32 of 34 launches earned $100k+	2 of 342 hits	$878	$87,556	34	1-hitSmall	Pin Match 3
14	Party Game1 of 17 launches earned $100k+	1 of 171 hit	$3,485	$45,437	17	Small	Pin Party Game
15	Sailing1 of 16 launches earned $100k+	1 of 161 hit	$13,152	$49,133	16	Small	Pin Sailing
16	Party-Based RPG1 in 16 earned $100k+, from 127 launches	1 in 168 hits	$5,899	$72,146	127	none	Pin Party-Based RPG
17	Score Attack3 of 44 launches earned $100k+	3 of 443 hits	$1,916	$78,687	44	Small	Pin Score Attack
18	Dialogue Heavy3 of 42 launches earned $100k+	3 of 423 hits	$7,089	$56,658	42	Small	Pin Dialogue Heavy
19	Underwater1 of 14 launches earned $100k+	1 of 141 hit	$7,469	$76,876	14	Small	Pin Underwater
20	Text-Based1 in 14 earned $100k+, from 97 launches	1 in 147 hits	$5,940	$71,081	97	none	Pin Text-Based
21	Combat Racing2 of 26 launches earned $100k+	2 of 262 hits	$4,811	$38,738	26	Small	Pin Combat Racing
22	Incremental3 of 38 launches earned $100k+	3 of 383 hits	$1,620	$96,704	38	Small	Pin Incremental
23	Grid-Based Movement3 of 37 launches earned $100k+	3 of 373 hits	$6,713	$81,785	37	Small	Pin Grid-Based Movement
24	Precision Platformer1 in 12 earned $100k+, from 84 launches	1 in 127 hits	$7,998	$93,344	84	Audience	Pin Precision Platformer
25	Otome3 of 36 launches earned $100k+	3 of 363 hits	$5,047	$95,100	36	Small	Pin Otome

Show 25 moreShowing 25 of 233 genres

green beats the base ratecoral below it bar: the chance; amber tick: the base rate1-hit one game holds over half the moneySmall under 50 launches in this viewAudience reads differently for Western players

Under 30 launches or 5 hits a chance is written as a count ("3 of 12"), never as odds. Typical year is the middle launch's first-year earnings. Lenses, the one-hit share and the audience split are measured across all prices.