Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

3D + Dark: a typical launch earns $607 in its first year

That is the median of 197 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 18 of 425 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 12.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 19% on the year before: 290 against 243.

Price: $607
Price vs a year earlier: +15.9%
Releases, 12 months: 290
Upcoming games: 578
Games on the store: 1,596

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.

3D + Dark 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.	0.23%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.15% to 0.31%	37 ranked of 578 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#950 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.34xhits against expected	0.98x to 1.86x	425 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,189 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+30%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+12% to +52%	56 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#497 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+14%review growth against same-age games	+7% to +28%	56 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#135 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: 18
Expected: 12.7

Launches: 425
Hit rate: 4.2%2.0% to 6.8%
Expected rate: 3.0%
Against expected: 1.34x0.98x to 1.86x

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

425 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: $20
Median: $505
Top tenth: $19,935

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: 290
Prior 12 months: 243

Change: +19%
Against Steam: −12%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

3DNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
DarkNot 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 3D

pairs with 3D

3D + Dark Humor$3,90132 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
3D + Cozy$3,23738 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
3D + Economy$3,15761 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
3D + Management$2,196130 launches priced, 192 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + 3D$2,162144 launches priced, 256 releases in 12 months
3D + Resource Management$2,02434 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months

Every pair with 3D

More with Dark

pairs with Dark

RPG + Dark$3,32642 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
Dark + Female Protagonist$3,04831 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
Dark + Supernatural$2,48942 launches priced, 63 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Dark$2,427120 launches priced, 161 releases in 12 months
Dark + Choices Matter$2,30338 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Visual Novel + Dark$1,85867 launches priced, 112 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Dark

Verdicts

in development

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