Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Adventure / Detective
Adventure + Detective: a typical launch earns $1,619 in its first year
That is the median of 120 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 31 of 253 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 22.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 47% on the year before: 201 against 137.
- Price
- $1,619 median of 120 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- 0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 201 137 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 532 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,581 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. | 0.45%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.28% to 0.66% | 59 ranked of 532 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #533 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.35xhits against expected | 1.05x to 1.73x | 253 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,151 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −9%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −24% to +10% | 72 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,713 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −3%review growth against same-age games | −12% to +7% | 72 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,160 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
- 253
- Hit rate
- 12.3%7.4% to 17.2%
- Expected rate
- 8.8%
- Against expected
- 1.35x1.05x to 1.73x
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
253 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
- $81
- Median
- $1,619
- Top tenth
- $125,615
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
- +47%
- Against Steam
- +7%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.
- Murders on the Yangtze River (opens the Steam store)2024 · 15,887 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2.9M
- Back to the Dawn (opens the Steam store)2023 · 8,575 reviews, 94% positiveest. $2.8M
- The Séance of Blake Manor (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,736 reviews, 95% positiveest. $1.5M
- The Incident at Galley House (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,234 reviews, 94% positiveest. $1.5M
- The Rise of the Golden Idol (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,797 reviews, 92% positiveest. $1.5M
- Duck Detective: The Secret Salami (opens the Steam store)2024 · 6,131 reviews, 94% positiveest. $1.2M
- Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Plus (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,195 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1.2M
- Strange Antiquities (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,308 reviews, 95% 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 Detective
pairs with Detective- Visual Novel + Detective$5,29368 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
- Detective + Mystery$5,207106 launches priced, 184 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Detective$4,125108 launches priced, 153 releases in 12 months
- Detective + Investigation$3,96395 launches priced, 150 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Detective$2,10470 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Detective$1,94182 launches priced, 113 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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