Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Adventure + Cute: a typical launch earns $1,133 in its first year
That is the median of 477 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 60 of 921 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 81.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 4% on the year before: 590 against 569.
- Price
- $1,133 median of 477 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −25.4% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 590 569 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,530 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 4,692 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. | 0.81%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.62% to 0.97% | 158 ranked of 1,530 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #292 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.75xhits against expected | 0.61x to 0.91x | 921 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,436 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 | +9% to +40% | 239 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #598 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 +3% | 239 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,250 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
- 921
- Hit rate
- 6.5%5.9% to 10.2%
- Expected rate
- 8.8%
- Against expected
- 0.75x0.61x to 0.91x
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
921 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
- $1,214
- Top tenth
- $54,657
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
- +4%
- Against Steam
- −24%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.
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,691 reviews, 93% positiveest. $7.7M
- Minishoot' Adventures (opens the Steam store)2024 · 7,837 reviews, 97% positiveest. $2.1M
- Jusant (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,139 reviews, 93% positiveest. $2M
- Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,745 reviews, 93% positiveest. $1.6M
- The Plucky Squire (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,805 reviews, 84% positiveest. $1.6M
- Loddlenaut (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,871 reviews, 98% positiveest. $1.6M
- Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,003 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.3M
- Duck Detective: The Secret Salami (opens the Steam store)2024 · 6,131 reviews, 94% positiveest. $1.2M
More with Adventure
pairs with Adventure- Adventure + Cozy$32,10838 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Narrative$12,85033 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + LGBTQ+$7,36637 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Online Co-Op$6,34186 launches priced, 187 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Base Building$5,35342 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Building$4,85745 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
More with Cute
pairs with Cute- Open World + Cute$5,88634 launches priced, 33 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Romance$5,22277 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Cute$3,396163 launches priced, 188 releases in 12 months
- Cute + LGBTQ+$2,97434 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Cute$2,84651 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Cute$2,798212 launches priced, 288 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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