Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
3D + eSports: a typical launch earns $182 in its first year
That is the median of 33 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 1 of 63 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 15% on the year before: 54 against 47.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $182 median of 33 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −30.2% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 54 47 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 156 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 419 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.
| 0.03%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.02% to 0.05% | 9 ranked of 156 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #6,812 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.49xhits against expected | 0.39x to 0.89x | 63 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,622 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −3%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −35% to +33% | 15 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,543 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −19%review growth against same-age games | −35% to +1% | 15 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,461 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 oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 63
- Hit rate
- 1.6%0.0% to 13.1%
- Expected rate
- 8.3%
- Against expected
- 0.49x0.39x to 0.89x
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
63 launchesEstimated 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
- $202
- Top tenth
- $13,056
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +15%
- Against Steam
- −16%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe 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.
- Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game (opens the Steam store)2024 · 6,660 reviews, 94% positiveest. $3.4M
- Backyard Baseball (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,264 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1M
- Phantom Spark (opens the Steam store)2024 · 207 reviews, 96% positiveest. $84k
- NGL Biathlon 2026 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 200 reviews, 94% positiveest. $73k
- Sailaway III (opens the Steam store)2024 · 159 reviews, 68% positiveest. $51k
- Extreme Climbing (opens the Steam store)2024 · 279 reviews, 92% positiveest. $45k
- Fight Crab 2 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 129 reviews, 93% positiveest. $39k
- Tennis Manager 25 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 76 reviews, 68% positiveest. $31k
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
More with eSports
pairs with eSports- Sports + eSports$1,01053 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + eSports$82235 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + eSports$64730 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- Casual + eSports$20231 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
- PvP + eSportsno price49 releases in 12 months
- Action + eSportsno price47 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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