Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Casual + Physics: a typical launch earns $283 in its first year
That is the median of 271 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 21 of 570 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 18.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 73% on the year before: 542 against 313.
- Price
- $283 median of 271 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +55.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 542 313 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 995 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 3,080 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. | 0.58%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.31% to 1.01% | 49 ranked of 995 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #406 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.11xhits against expected | 0.82x to 1.51x | 570 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,149 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −13%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −24% to +1% | 47 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,822 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 | 0% to +21% | 47 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #271 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
- 570
- Hit rate
- 3.7%2.5% to 4.9%
- Expected rate
- 3.3%
- Against expected
- 1.11x0.82x to 1.51x
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
570 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
- $242
- Top tenth
- $10,230
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
- +73%
- Against Steam
- +27%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.
- Goat Simulator 3 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 13,856 reviews, 97% positiveest. $7.7M
- JDM: Japanese Drift Master (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,261 reviews, 75% positiveest. $3.6M
- Berry Bury Berry (opens the Steam store)2026 · 8,690 reviews, 98% positiveest. $1.4M
- Hozy (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,256 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1.2M
- ScootX (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,519 reviews, 92% positiveest. $1M
- Baby Steps (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,367 reviews, 90% positiveest. $958k
- DrainSim (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,644 reviews, 91% positiveest. $803k
- Machine Party (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,502 reviews, 87% positiveest. $670k
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 Physics
pairs with Physics- Building + Physics$2,16430 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Physics$2,06074 launches priced, 123 releases in 12 months
- Multiplayer + Physics$1,72852 launches priced, 181 releases in 12 months
- Comedy + Physics$1,61742 launches priced, 99 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Physics$1,24262 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Physics$1,11244 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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