Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Casual + LGBTQ+: a typical launch earns $4,154 in its first year
That is the median of 42 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 1 of 85 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 7.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 58% on the year before: 95 against 60.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $4,154 median of 42 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +118.2% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 95 60 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 160 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 546 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. | 0.05%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.04% to 0.07% | 17 ranked of 160 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,455 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.37xhits against expected | 0.30x to 0.69x | 85 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,766 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −19%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −36% to −2% | 22 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,972 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −11%review growth against same-age games | −15% to −3% | 22 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,327 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
- 85
- Hit rate
- 1.2%0.0% to 12.3%
- Expected rate
- 9.1%
- Against expected
- 0.37x0.30x to 0.69x
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
85 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
- $40
- Median
- $2,103
- Top tenth
- $54,760
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
- +58%
- Against Steam
- +11%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.
- WEBFISHING (opens the Steam store)2024 · 57,389 reviews, 97% positiveest. $5.8M
- Mixtape (opens the Steam store)2026 · 7,404 reviews, 87% positiveest. $2.8M
- Pronoun Palace (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,299 reviews, 99% positiveest. $522k
- Thrifty Business (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,256 reviews, 97% positiveest. $330k
- Voice Love on Air (opens the Steam store)2024 · 526 reviews, 86% positiveest. $319k
- UsoNatsu ~The Summer Romance Bloomed From A Lie~ (opens the Steam store)2023 · 406 reviews, 91% positiveest. $205k
- Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club TOKIMEKI Roadmap to Future (opens the Steam store)2025 · 123 reviews, 84% positiveest. $100k
- Ritual of Raven (opens the Steam store)2025 · 326 reviews, 88% positiveest. $99k
More with Casual
pairs with Casual- Casual + Job Simulator$8,44230 launches priced, 54 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
- Casual + Building$1,557147 launches priced, 251 releases in 12 months
More with LGBTQ+
pairs with LGBTQ+- Dating Sim + LGBTQ+$7,36631 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + LGBTQ+$7,36637 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + LGBTQ+$6,05083 launches priced, 159 releases in 12 months
- Multiple Endings + LGBTQ+$5,85936 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Romance + LGBTQ+$5,45434 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
- Female Protagonist + LGBTQ+$4,85853 launches priced, 86 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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