Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Action + PvP: a typical launch earns $414 in its first year
That is the median of 206 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 22 of 451 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 24.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 49% on the year before: 495 against 332.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $414 median of 206 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +2.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 495 332 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,609 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 3,792 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.
| 9.18%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 1.41% to 21.31% | 119 ranked of 1,611 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #3,809 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.90xhits against expected | 0.67x to 1.21x | 451 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,438 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −13%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −23% to 0% | 147 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,810 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −4%review growth against same-age games | −11% to +1% | 147 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,009 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
- 451
- Hit rate
- 4.9%3.3% to 7.2%
- Expected rate
- 5.5%
- Against expected
- 0.90x0.67x to 1.21x
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
451 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
- $484
- Top tenth
- $19,416
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
- +49%
- Against Steam
- +10%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.
- WARDOGS (opens the Steam store)2026 · 84,875 reviews, 76% positiveest. $67M
- Mistfall Hunter (opens the Steam store)2026 · 16,353 reviews, 53% positiveest. $7.8M
- Nuclear Option (opens the Steam store)2023 · 10,455 reviews, 95% positiveest. $4.2M
- Gigantic: Rampage Edition (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,796 reviews, 64% positiveest. $1.5M
- Active Matter (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,104 reviews, 77% positiveest. $1.3M
- FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,168 reviews, 82% positiveest. $1.2M
- Wild Assault (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,877 reviews, 68% positiveest. $1.1M
- Forefront (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,939 reviews, 84% positiveest. $1.1M
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 PvP
pairs with PvP- RPG + PvP$1,53738 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
- PvP + Funny$1,11269 launches priced, 197 releases in 12 months
- PvP + Party Game$1,11243 launches priced, 282 releases in 12 months
- Sports + PvP$92876 launches priced, 150 releases in 12 months
- PvP + Cute$90972 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + PvP$81051 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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