Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Action-Adventure / Cinematic
Action-Adventure + Cinematic: a typical launch earns $1,092 in its first year
That is the median of 59 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 104 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 20% on the year before: 55 against 69.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $1,092 median of 59 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +93.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 55 69 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 292 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 578 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.
| 1.49%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.26% to 3.79% | 43 ranked of 292 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,140 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.24xhits against expected | 0.86x to 1.84x | 104 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,597 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +87%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +28% to +142% | 35 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #17 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 | +1% to +27% | 35 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #222 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
- 104
- Hit rate
- 8.7%5.0% to 13.0%
- Expected rate
- 6.4%
- Against expected
- 1.24x0.86x to 1.84x
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
104 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
- $764
- Top tenth
- $23,709
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
- −20%
- Against Steam
- −40%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Action-AdventureGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- CinematicNot 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.
REPLACED (opens the Steam store)2026 · 9,372 reviews, 84% positiveest. $3.6M
METAL GEAR SOLID 3: Snake Eater - Master Collection Version (opens the Steam store)2023 · 5,458 reviews, 89% positiveest. $2.2M
Metro Awakening (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,041 reviews, 73% positiveest. $1.8M
METAL GEAR SOLID - Master Collection Version (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,367 reviews, 84% positiveest. $1.8M
METAL GEAR SOLID 2: Sons of Liberty - Master Collection Version (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,580 reviews, 90% positiveest. $1.4M
LIZARDS MUST DIE 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,233 reviews, 94% positiveest. $452k
Hellboy Web of Wyrd (opens the Steam store)2023 · 684 reviews, 71% positiveest. $346k
Grandpa High on Retro (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,080 reviews, 88% positiveest. $337k
More with Action-Adventure
pairs with Action-Adventure- Action-Adventure + VR$6,75746 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + Action-Adventure$4,36354 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months
- Online Co-Op + Action-Adventure$4,12753 launches priced, 80 releases in 12 months
- Action-Adventure + Dark Fantasy$3,09649 launches priced, 105 releases in 12 months
- Metroidvania + Action-Adventure$2,86390 launches priced, 117 releases in 12 months
- Action-Adventure + Gore$2,02430 launches priced, 18 releases in 12 months
More with Cinematic
pairs with Cinematic- Cinematic + Immersive Sim$24,23132 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Cinematic$5,00947 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Cinematic + Mystery$4,60234 launches priced, 41 releases in 12 months
- Cinematic + Interactive Fiction$4,18748 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Cinematic$4,03368 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
- Cinematic + Walking Simulator$3,57532 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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