Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Action / Perma Death
Action + Perma Death: a typical launch earns $202 in its first year
That is the median of 58 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 3 of 133 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 51% on the year before: 104 against 69.
- Price
- $202 median of 58 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −33.4% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 104 69 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 256 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 703 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.
| 0.33%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.07% to 0.71% | 12 ranked of 257 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,722 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.79xhits against expected | 0.55x to 1.35x | 133 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,194 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
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
- 133
- Hit rate
- 2.3%0.7% to 5.8%
- Expected rate
- 3.5%
- Against expected
- 0.79x0.55x to 1.35x
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
133 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
- $282
- Top tenth
- $8,530
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
- +51%
Parent tags
- ActionNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Perma DeathNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
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.
- CRUEL (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,823 reviews, 95% positiveest. $369k
- Dunjungle (opens the Steam store)2024 · 695 reviews, 96% positiveest. $211k
- Soulslinger: Envoy of Death (opens the Steam store)2023 · 473 reviews, 63% positiveest. $191k
- Bendy: Lone Wolf (opens the Steam store)2025 · 262 reviews, 77% positiveest. $106k
- Tankenstein (opens the Steam store)2025 · 246 reviews, 89% positiveest. $90k
- Rogue Loops (opens the Steam store)2025 · 260 reviews, 71% positiveest. $79k
- Varthos - Heir to the Throne (opens the Steam store)2025 · 83 reviews, 68% positiveest. $34k
- Only Way is Down (opens the Steam store)2025 · 137 reviews, 63% positiveest. $28k
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 Perma Death
pairs with Perma Death- Roguelike + Perma Death$1,97186 launches priced, 115 releases in 12 months
- Perma Death + Difficult$1,86936 launches priced, 33 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Perma Death$1,81943 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Perma Death$1,51837 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
- Perma Death + Procedural Generation$1,51843 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
- Perma Death + Bullet Hell$70741 launches priced, 36 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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