Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Casual / 2D Platformer
Casual + 2D Platformer: a typical launch earns $61 in its first year
That is the median of 541 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 10 of 1,044 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 42.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 23% on the year before: 823 against 668.
- Price
- $61 median of 541 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −24.5% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 823 668 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 981 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 4,376 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. | 0.07%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.05% to 0.11% | 15 ranked of 981 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,108 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.28xhits against expected | 0.20x to 0.43x | 1,044 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,797 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +18%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | 0% to +38% | 51 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #826 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +7%review growth against same-age games | −6% to +21% | 51 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #484 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
- 1,044
- Hit rate
- 1.0%0.8% to 2.1%
- Expected rate
- 4.1%
- Against expected
- 0.28x0.20x to 0.43x
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
1,044 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
- $80
- Top tenth
- $2,615
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
- +23%
- Against Steam
- −9%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- CasualNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- 2D PlatformerGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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.
- Thank Goodness You're Here! (opens the Steam store)2024 · 7,792 reviews, 96% positiveest. $3.1M
- Braid, Anniversary Edition (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,766 reviews, 92% positiveest. $715k
- Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary (opens the Steam store)2026 · 996 reviews, 95% positiveest. $504k
- Kemono Teatime (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,641 reviews, 95% positiveest. $432k
- AIR (opens the Steam store)2025 · 651 reviews, 98% positiveest. $395k
- Twin Shot Deluxe (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,180 reviews, 95% positiveest. $239k
- Tsuki ni Yorisou Otome no Sahou 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 291 reviews, 96% positiveest. $236k
- Kanon (opens the Steam store)2024 · 379 reviews, 97% positiveest. $230k
More with Casual
pairs with Casual- Casual + Job Simulator$8,44230 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
- Casual + LGBTQ+$4,15442 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Romance$2,61486 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Economy$2,204112 launches priced, 302 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Online Co-Op$1,970104 launches priced, 272 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Capitalism$1,92351 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months
More with 2D Platformer
pairs with 2D Platformer- Metroidvania + 2D Platformer$1,78091 launches priced, 107 releases in 12 months
- Anime + 2D Platformer$1,17390 launches priced, 113 releases in 12 months
- 2D Platformer + Souls-like$96931 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
- Sci-fi + 2D Platformer$84935 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
- 2D Platformer + Female Protagonist$84281 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + 2D Platformer$72841 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.