Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Action + Casual: a typical launch earns $202 in its first year
That is the median of 1,105 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 40 of 2,214 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 75.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 29% on the year before: 1,803 against 1,401.
- Price
- $202 median of 1,105 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −0.1% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 1,803 1,401 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 3,677 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 15,307 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. | 0.91%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.74% to 1.19% | 136 ranked of 3,681 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #253 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.54xhits against expected | 0.43x to 0.69x | 2,214 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,455 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 | −4% to +12% | 186 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,351 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −3%review growth against same-age games | −10% to +4% | 186 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #939 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
- 2,214
- Hit rate
- 1.8%1.0% to 2.4%
- Expected rate
- 3.4%
- Against expected
- 0.54x0.43x to 0.69x
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
2,213 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
- $6,066
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
- +29%
- Against Steam
- −5%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.
- LOCKDOWN Protocol (opens the Steam store)2024 · 16,637 reviews, 86% positiveest. $3.3M
- Streamer Life Simulator 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,768 reviews, 81% positiveest. $2.7M
- VLADiK BRUTAL (opens the Steam store)2024 · 9,559 reviews, 89% positiveest. $2.3M
- Once Upon A KATAMARI (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,360 reviews, 90% positiveest. $1.1M
- Mage Arena (opens the Steam store)2025 · 17,821 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.1M
- s&box (opens the Steam store)2026 · 5,248 reviews, 45% positiveest. $1.1M
- Baby Steps (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,367 reviews, 90% positiveest. $958k
- PLATiNA :: LAB (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,833 reviews, 51% positiveest. $742k
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 Casual
pairs with Casual- Casual + Job Simulator$8,44230 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
- Casual + LGBTQ+$4,15442 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Romance$2,61486 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Economy$2,204112 launches priced, 302 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Online Co-Op$1,970104 launches priced, 272 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Capitalism$1,92351 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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