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 markets0 out Hide small samples15 out Holds in every lens+161 if off

233 of 256 genres have 10+ launches at $10 to $20. 72 match the search and chips. Sorted by chance of $100k+, highest first.

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

Hacking 2 of 14 earned $100k+ at $10 to $20typical $13,664 Small

Class-Based 6 of 25 earned $100k+ at $10 to $20typical $11,770 SmallAudience

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	Bullet Heaven7 of 19 launches earned $100k+	7 of 197 hits	$19,427	$1,956,319	19	Small	Pin Bullet Heaven
2	Online Co-Op35 in 100 earned $100k+, from 142 launches	35 in 10050 hits	$34,532	$649,488	142	none	Pin Online Co-Op
3	Music34 in 100 earned $100k+, from 35 launches	34 in 10012 hits	$32,017	$573,348	35	Small	Pin Music
4	Inventory Management33 in 100 earned $100k+, from 51 launches	33 in 10017 hits	$21,885	$740,563	51	none	Pin Inventory Management
5	Lovecraftian32 in 100 earned $100k+, from 41 launches	32 in 10013 hits	$22,478	$261,863	41	Small	Pin Lovecraftian
6	Economy31 in 100 earned $100k+, from 161 launches	31 in 10050 hits	$32,655	$403,798	161	none	Pin Economy
7	Co-op31 in 100 earned $100k+, from 157 launches	31 in 10048 hits	$19,270	$774,181	157	none	Pin Co-op
8	Life Sim30 in 100 earned $100k+, from 233 launches	30 in 10071 hits	$28,398	$363,930	233	none	Pin Life Sim
9	Management30 in 100 earned $100k+, from 298 launches	30 in 10089 hits	$31,612	$366,715	298	none	Pin Management
10	Driving29 in 100 earned $100k+, from 87 launches	29 in 10025 hits	$14,174	$345,792	87	none	Pin Driving
11	Dark Humor29 in 100 earned $100k+, from 70 launches	29 in 10020 hits	$15,987	$371,283	70	none	Pin Dark Humor
12	Mining6 of 21 launches earned $100k+	6 of 216 hits	$12,582	$230,064	21	Small	Pin Mining
13	Open World28 in 100 earned $100k+, from 270 launches	28 in 10075 hits	$19,479	$411,945	270	none	Pin Open World
14	Trading28 in 100 earned $100k+, from 54 launches	28 in 10015 hits	$33,643	$386,359	54	none	Pin Trading
15	Mechs27 in 100 earned $100k+, from 30 launches	27 in 1008 hits	$20,152	$242,718	30	Small	Pin Mechs
16	Job Simulator7 of 27 launches earned $100k+	7 of 277 hits	$22,437	$261,069	27	Small	Pin Job Simulator
17	Roguelite26 in 100 earned $100k+, from 381 launches	26 in 10098 hits	$18,216	$420,756	381	none	Pin Roguelite
18	Deckbuilding26 in 100 earned $100k+, from 168 launches	26 in 10043 hits	$18,545	$449,394	168	none	Pin Deckbuilding
19	Crafting25 in 100 earned $100k+, from 216 launches	25 in 10055 hits	$20,351	$294,097	216	none	Pin Crafting
20	Roguelike25 in 100 earned $100k+, from 410 launches	25 in 100102 hits	$16,055	$449,394	410	none	Pin Roguelike
21	Action Roguelike24 in 100 earned $100k+, from 243 launches	24 in 10059 hits	$13,214	$396,209	243	none	Pin Action Roguelike
22	Tower Defense23 in 100 earned $100k+, from 124 launches	23 in 10029 hits	$7,966	$427,167	124	none	Pin Tower Defense
23	Colony Sim23 in 100 earned $100k+, from 77 launches	23 in 10018 hits	$18,490	$317,390	77	none	Pin Colony Sim
24	FPS23 in 100 earned $100k+, from 219 launches	23 in 10051 hits	$8,437	$488,177	219	none	Pin FPS
25	Wholesome23 in 100 earned $100k+, from 61 launches	23 in 10014 hits	$37,600	$168,317	61	none	Pin Wholesome

Show 25 moreShowing 25 of 72 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.