Genres

Ticker: price and year-over-year change for 40 genres. Price is the median estimated first-year revenue of indie paid launches. The same figures are on the Genres page.

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on 30 Sep 2026

Genres 1 Oct

Of 264 genres with 30+ launches at any price, West-facing view, 154 beat the 1 in 16 base rate. Price moves the odds most: 1 in 192 under $5, 42 in 100 at $20 to $40.154 of 264 genres beat the 1 in 16 base rate.154 beat the base rate.

Cohort median $606

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 6 to 30 months old, data 1 Oct 2026. A hit is an estimated first year of $100k+. The revenue estimate is soft: about 5 to 8 in 100 launches overall.

Best niches

All prices

Pairs that hit $100k+ beyond the oddsFree until launch

Capitalism + Incrementalabout 13 times expected at its prices14 in 100
1Capitalism + Incremental14 in 10050 launches2Casual + Desktop Companion28 in 10047 launches3Desktop Companion + Idler25 in 10064 launches4Desktop Companion + Relaxing30 in 10043 launches5Comedy + Memes10 in 10049 launches

Lens checkChanged recently. Standard: the yardstick. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: moves the answer.

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Best nichesFree until launchClick to unlockTag pairs that beat the odds

The genre list

The West-facing view lens is computed across all prices only for now, so this list reads All prices. Pick Standard to read $10 to $20.

Best odds at my priceChance of $100k+, read within one price band.Opens $10 to $20, Standard lens.Steady marketsHolds in every lens and no single game owns it.Now: Open World Survival Craft, 31 in 100. 153 match.Biggest typical yearWhat the middle launch earned, highest first.Now: Extraction Shooter, $68,810 typical. 264 match.Biggest upsideWhat the top tenth earned at least.Not computed for lenses yet.Proven at scale100+ launches and above the base rate.Now: Open World Survival Craft, 31 in 100. 109 match.Busiest marketsMost launches first: where the competition is.Now: Puzzle, 5,529 launches. 264 match.
Hide one-hit markets+26 if offHide small samples3 outHolds in every lens+61 if off

264 of 266 genres have 30+ launches at any price, West-facing view. 153 match the search and chips. Sorted by chance of $100k+, highest first.

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Genres at any price, West-facing view, sorted by chance of $100k+. The first row is the base rate.
Rank#GenreChance of $100k+Typical yearTop 1 in 10LaunchesMarkersPin
All games at any price, West-facing viewthe base rate: the row to beat 1 in 161,804 of 29,637 $606not computed 29,637
1 31 in 100 earned $100k+, from 107 launches 31 in 10033 hits $21,248 not computed 107 none Pin Open World Survival Craft
2 Base Building20 in 100 earned $100k+, from 599 launches 20 in 100120 hits $3,683 not computed 599 none Pin Base Building

20 in 100 earned $100k+, from 599 launches at any price, West-facing view. That is about 3.3 times the base rate.

Base rate at any price, West-facing view: 1 in 16 (1,804 of 29,637 launches earned $100k+).

Typical first year $3,683. Top 1 in 10 is not computed for lenses yet.

Lens check, all pricesHolds in 3 of 3. Standard: the yardstick. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: holds.

No warning markers: no single game holds half the money, the sample is 50+ launches and the audience split is small.

Chance of $100k+ at every price (Standard lens)
PriceChanceLaunchesTypical
All prices20 in 100628$3,683
Under $50 in 100160$202
$5 to $101 in 30179$1,821
$10 to $2029 in 100231$28,409
$20 to $4088 in 10058$661,404

Grey: under 30 launches at that price, written as a count. Odds compare best within one price.

Best tag pairs inside, at any price, West-facing view

Open genre pageCheck this idea
3 19 in 100 earned $100k+, from 777 launches 19 in 100148 hits $4,451 not computed 777 none Pin Online Co-Op
4 19 in 100 earned $100k+, from 772 launches 19 in 100146 hits $3,936 not computed 772 none Pin Co-op
5 18 in 100 earned $100k+, from 870 launches 18 in 100154 hits $2,831 not computed 870 none Pin Building
6 17 in 100 earned $100k+, from 246 launches 17 in 10043 hits $2,630 not computed 246 none Pin Colony Sim
7 17 in 100 earned $100k+, from 121 launches 17 in 10021 hits $4,855 not computed 121 Audience Pin FMV
8 17 in 100 earned $100k+, from 112 launches 17 in 10019 hits $5,153 not computed 112 none Pin Mechs
9 17 in 100 earned $100k+, from 149 launches 17 in 10025 hits $1,778 not computed 149 none Pin Music
10 16 in 100 earned $100k+, from 877 launches 16 in 100142 hits $2,185 not computed 877 none Pin Open World
11 16 in 100 earned $100k+, from 710 launches 16 in 100114 hits $2,448 not computed 710 none Pin Crafting
12 15 in 100 earned $100k+, from 1,251 launches 15 in 100192 hits $3,638 not computed 1,251 none Pin Management
13 15 in 100 earned $100k+, from 512 launches 15 in 10078 hits $2,225 not computed 512 Audience Pin City Builder
14 15 in 100 earned $100k+, from 1,352 launches 15 in 100198 hits $1,840 not computed 1,352 none Pin Sandbox
15 15 in 100 earned $100k+, from 631 launches 15 in 10092 hits $3,641 not computed 631 none Pin Economy
16 15 in 100 earned $100k+, from 179 launches 15 in 10026 hits $3,683 not computed 179 none Pin Shop Keeper
17 14 in 100 earned $100k+, from 126 launches 14 in 10018 hits $8,351 not computed 126 none Pin Job Simulator
18 14 in 100 earned $100k+, from 172 launches 14 in 10024 hits $2,223 not computed 172 Audience Pin Fishing
19 13 in 100 earned $100k+, from 69 launches 13 in 1009 hits $405 not computed 69 none Pin Massively Multiplayer
20 13 in 100 earned $100k+, from 646 launches 13 in 10084 hits $2,101 not computed 646 none Pin Cozy
21 13 in 100 earned $100k+, from 170 launches 13 in 10022 hits $4,048 not computed 170 Audience Pin Lovecraftian
22 13 in 100 earned $100k+, from 990 launches 13 in 100128 hits $2,225 not computed 990 none Pin Life Sim
23 13 in 100 earned $100k+, from 79 launches 13 in 10010 hits $1,214 not computed 79 none Pin Vampires
24 13 in 100 earned $100k+, from 740 launches 13 in 10093 hits $2,136 not computed 740 none Pin Resource Management
25 13 in 100 earned $100k+, from 311 launches 13 in 10039 hits $2,630 not computed 311 none Pin Capitalism
Show 25 moreShowing 25 of 153 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 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.

Releases

Ticker: 30 upcoming games dated within 90 days, with wishlist rank, release date and followers. The same list is on the Upcoming page.