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 6 to 7.5 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 3.1 times the 20 in 100 base rate63 in 100

1Building + Life Sim63 in 10030 launches 2Casual + Cozy60 in 10050 launches 3Cozy + Relaxing59 in 10054 launches 4Cozy + Simulation56 in 10036 launches 5Cinematic + Story Rich55 in 10031 launches

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The genre list

Price $10 to $20

All prices1 in 15 hit $100k+Under $51 in 238 hit $100k+$5 to $101 in 28 hit $100k+$10 to $2020 in 100 hit $100k+$20 to $4044 in 100 hit $100k+

Base rate: indie paid launches 12 to 36 months old, 26,291 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 30+

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

Hides anything measured on fewer launches.

$10 to $20 30+ launches

Best odds at my priceChance of $100k+, read within one price band.Now: Shop Keeper, 57 in 100. 156 match.Steady marketsHolds in every lens and no single game owns it.Now: Online Co-Op, 39 in 100. 68 match.Biggest typical yearWhat the middle launch earned, highest first.Now: Cozy, $117,666 typical. 156 match.Biggest upsideWhat the top tenth earned at least.Now: Co-op, $1M top 1 in 10. 118 match.Proven at scale100+ launches and above the base rate.Now: Cozy, 51 in 100. 40 match.Busiest marketsMost launches first: where the competition is.Now: Simulation, 874 launches. 156 match.

Hide one-hit markets8 out Hide small samples+20 if off Beats the base rate+55 if off

156 of 256 genres have 30+ launches at $10 to $20. 63 match the search and chips. Sorted by chance of $100k+, lowest first.

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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	20 in 100878 of 4,304	$10,978	$287,297	4,304
1	Souls-like20 in 100 earned $100k+, from 98 launches	20 in 10020 hits	under 100	under 100	98	none	Pin Souls-like
2	Post-apocalyptic21 in 100 earned $100k+, from 112 launches	21 in 10023 hits	$14,458	$258,277	112	none	Pin Post-apocalyptic
3	Rhythm21 in 100 earned $100k+, from 63 launches	21 in 10013 hits	under 100	under 100	63	none	Pin Rhythm
4	RTS21 in 100 earned $100k+, from 111 launches	21 in 10023 hits	$14,115	$264,556	111	none	Pin RTS
5	Perma Death21 in 100 earned $100k+, from 53 launches	21 in 10011 hits	under 100	under 100	53	Audience	Pin Perma Death
6	Card Game21 in 100 earned $100k+, from 201 launches	21 in 10042 hits	$18,010	$360,680	201	none	Pin Card Game
7	Shooter21 in 100 earned $100k+, from 363 launches	21 in 10077 hits	$9,621	$330,193	363	none	Pin Shooter
8	Dungeon Crawler21 in 100 earned $100k+, from 205 launches	21 in 10044 hits	$16,387	$338,755	205	none	Pin Dungeon Crawler
9	Space21 in 100 earned $100k+, from 107 launches	21 in 10023 hits	$10,036	$252,312	107	none	Pin Space
10	Action RPG22 in 100 earned $100k+, from 281 launches	22 in 10061 hits	$10,294	$303,158	281	none	Pin Action RPG
11	Flight22 in 100 earned $100k+, from 55 launches	22 in 10012 hits	under 100	under 100	55	none	Pin Flight
12	Horror22 in 100 earned $100k+, from 345 launches	22 in 10076 hits	$12,981	$309,518	345	none	Pin Horror
13	Nature23 in 100 earned $100k+, from 80 launches	23 in 10018 hits	under 100	under 100	80	none	Pin Nature
14	Detective23 in 100 earned $100k+, from 106 launches	23 in 10024 hits	$12,860	$275,639	106	Audience	Pin Detective
15	Dark Fantasy23 in 100 earned $100k+, from 145 launches	23 in 10033 hits	$15,615	$335,771	145	1-hit	Pin Dark Fantasy
16	Tactical23 in 100 earned $100k+, from 113 launches	23 in 10026 hits	$25,693	$327,565	113	none	Pin Tactical
17	Military23 in 100 earned $100k+, from 69 launches	23 in 10016 hits	under 100	under 100	69	1-hit	Pin Military
18	Automobile Sim24 in 100 earned $100k+, from 68 launches	24 in 10016 hits	under 100	under 100	68	none	Pin Automobile Sim
19	Simulation24 in 100 earned $100k+, from 874 launches	24 in 100208 hits	$15,416	$381,863	874	none	Pin Simulation
20	Survival24 in 100 earned $100k+, from 206 launches	24 in 10050 hits	$24,935	$322,489	206	none	Pin Survival
21	Character Customization25 in 100 earned $100k+, from 191 launches	25 in 10047 hits	$17,568	$343,571	191	none	Pin Character Customization
22	FPS25 in 100 earned $100k+, from 220 launches	25 in 10055 hits	$11,290	$650,903	220	none	Pin FPS
23	Auto Battler25 in 100 earned $100k+, from 60 launches	25 in 10015 hits	under 100	under 100	60	none	Pin Auto Battler
24	Investigation25 in 100 earned $100k+, from 107 launches	25 in 10027 hits	$12,547	$349,150	107	none	Pin Investigation
25	Hack and Slash25 in 100 earned $100k+, from 182 launches	25 in 10046 hits	$19,586	$303,158	182	Audience	Pin Hack and Slash

Show 25 moreShowing 25 of 63 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.