Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

2D + Hand-drawn: a typical launch earns $718 in its first year

That is the median of 286 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 26 of 576 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 24.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 24% on the year before: 445 against 358.

Price: $718
Price vs a year earlier: −28.7%
Releases, 12 months: 445
Upcoming games: 1,181
Games on the store: 2,996

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.

2D + Hand-drawn 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.	0.77%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.52% to 1.05%	94 ranked of 1,182 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#312 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.05xhits against expected	0.79x to 1.39x	576 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,508 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	+12%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−3% to +23%	105 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,014 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	+2%review growth against same-age games	−5% to +9%	105 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,867 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: 26
Expected: 24.7

Launches: 576
Hit rate: 4.5%4.0% to 6.5%
Expected rate: 4.3%
Against expected: 1.05x0.79x to 1.39x

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

576 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: $566
Top tenth: $21,215

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: 445
Prior 12 months: 358

Change: +24%
Against Steam: −9%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

2DNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
Hand-drawnNot 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 2D

pairs with 2D

2D + Roguelike Deckbuilder$6,77234 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
2D + Romance$3,28176 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
War + 2D$3,16035 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
2D + Dating Sim$2,55991 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
2D + LGBTQ+$2,46550 launches priced, 85 releases in 12 months
2D + Historical$2,32474 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months

Every pair with 2D

More with Hand-drawn

pairs with Hand-drawn

Story Rich + Hand-drawn$5,46489 launches priced, 127 releases in 12 months
Emotional + Hand-drawn$3,75736 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
Hand-drawn + Female Protagonist$2,64735 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
Adventure + Hand-drawn$2,418137 launches priced, 233 releases in 12 months
Hand-drawn + Interactive Fiction$2,02244 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Visual Novel + Hand-drawn$1,84974 launches priced, 139 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Hand-drawn

Verdicts

in development

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