Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Action + Horror: a typical launch earns $809 in its first year
That is the median of 555 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 54 of 1,090 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 50.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 21% on the year before: 760 against 629.
- Price
- $809 median of 555 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −4.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 760 629 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 2,106 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 5,771 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. | 5.98%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 3.54% to 8.86% | 229 ranked of 2,107 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #27 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.06xhits against expected | 0.86x to 1.30x | 1,090 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,466 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +26%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +15% to +40% | 204 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #578 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +12%review growth against same-age games | +4% to +20% | 204 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #217 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
- 1,090
- Hit rate
- 5.0%3.9% to 7.7%
- Expected rate
- 4.7%
- Against expected
- 1.06x0.86x to 1.30x
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
1,090 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
- $20
- Median
- $793
- Top tenth
- $25,807
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
- +21%
- Against Steam
- −11%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.
- Killing Floor 3 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 16,543 reviews, 46% positiveest. $13M
- No More Room in Hell 2 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 17,104 reviews, 62% positiveest. $9.5M
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic (opens the Steam store)2025 · 10,957 reviews, 86% positiveest. $8.9M
- Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,126 reviews, 89% positiveest. $4.2M
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Into the Pit (opens the Steam store)2024 · 10,180 reviews, 95% positiveest. $4.1M
- Crow Country (opens the Steam store)2024 · 7,791 reviews, 97% positiveest. $3.2M
- The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,158 reviews, 68% positiveest. $1.9M
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,125 reviews, 93% positiveest. $1.6M
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 Horror
pairs with Horror- Horror + Co-op$7,08089 launches priced, 127 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Online Co-Op$5,819120 launches priced, 169 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Multiplayer$5,680106 launches priced, 172 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Lovecraftian$3,41850 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Roguelike$3,33937 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Text-Based$2,83130 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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