Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Action + Loot: a typical launch earns $981 in its first year
That is the median of 34 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 14 of 77 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 119% on the year before: 92 against 42.
- Price
- $981 median of 34 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −19.2% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 92 42 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 266 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 583 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. | 0.25%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.15% to 0.36% | 22 ranked of 267 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #901 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 2.02xhits against expected | 1.46x to 2.77x | 77 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #148 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −23%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −44% to +7% | 22 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,047 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 | −5% to +40% | 22 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #176 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
- 77
- Hit rate
- 17.1%11.9% to 25.6%
- Expected rate
- 7.0%
- Against expected
- 2.02x1.46x to 2.77x
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
76 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
- $1,284
- Top tenth
- $264,014
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
- +119%
- Against Steam
- +46%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.
- Path of Exile 2 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 168,204 reviews, 76% positiveest. $102M
- Megabonk (opens the Steam store)2025 · 100,637 reviews, 94% positiveest. $20M
- Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition (opens the Steam store)2026 · 6,025 reviews, 86% positiveest. $4.9M
- Tower of Babel: Survivors of Chaos (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,298 reviews, 68% positiveest. $1.4M
- Dragonkin: The Banished (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,252 reviews, 72% positiveest. $1.1M
- Deadly Days: Roadtrip (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,882 reviews, 87% positiveest. $766k
- Meta Ghost: Breaking Show (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,497 reviews, 72% positiveest. $545k
- GOD FORSAKEN (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,730 reviews, 67% positiveest. $490k
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 Loot
pairs with Loot- Action RPG + Loot$5,00732 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Loot$1,21355 launches priced, 135 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Loot$1,21339 launches priced, 115 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Loot$1,00233 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Loot$76336 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
- Loot + Idlerno price100 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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