Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Action + Adventure: a typical launch earns $443 in its first year
That is the median of 1,441 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 136 of 2,907 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 176.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 14% on the year before: 2,046 against 1,794.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $443 median of 1,441 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −19.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 2,046 1,794 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 7,238 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 21,646 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. | 28.07%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 15.70% to 41.14% | 680 ranked of 7,241 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.78xhits against expected | 0.68x to 0.89x | 2,907 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,280 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +34%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +26% to +45% | 528 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #411 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +13%review growth against same-age games | +8% to +17% | 528 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #192 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
- 2,907
- Hit rate
- 4.7%4.0% to 7.2%
- Expected rate
- 6.1%
- Against expected
- 0.78x0.68x 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
2,907 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
- $424
- Top tenth
- $20,373
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
- +14%
- 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.
- Escape From Duckov (opens the Steam store)2025 · 83,945 reviews, 85% positiveest. $21M
- AI LIMIT (opens the Steam store)2025 · 22,939 reviews, 92% positiveest. $11M
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic (opens the Steam store)2025 · 10,957 reviews, 86% positiveest. $8.9M
- DragonSword : Awakening (opens the Steam store)2026 · 10,938 reviews, 88% positiveest. $5.8M
- Haste (opens the Steam store)2025 · 12,741 reviews, 92% positiveest. $5M
- Absolum (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,457 reviews, 91% positiveest. $4.6M
- Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft (opens the Steam store)2024 · 6,903 reviews, 85% positiveest. $4.2M
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Into the Pit (opens the Steam store)2024 · 10,180 reviews, 95% positiveest. $4.1M
More with Action
pairs with Action- Action + Mechs$7,85932 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- Action + Bullet Heaven$6,31331 launches priced, 177 releases in 12 months
- Action + Co-op$3,733172 launches priced, 259 releases in 12 months
- Action + Team-Based$2,97239 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
- Action + Metroidvania$2,893107 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
- Action + Fighting$2,52840 launches priced, 34 releases in 12 months
More with Adventure
pairs with Adventure- Adventure + Cozy$32,10838 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Narrative$12,85033 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + LGBTQ+$7,36637 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Online Co-Op$6,34186 launches priced, 187 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Base Building$5,35342 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Building$4,85745 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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