Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Character Customization + PvE: a typical launch earns $404 in its first year

That is the median of 53 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 104 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 43% on the year before: 109 against 76.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $404
Price vs a year earlier: −65.3%
Releases, 12 months: 109
Upcoming games: 435
Games on the store: 800

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

Character Customization + PvE on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.	2.42%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.93% to 4.49%	43 ranked of 435 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#89 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. One game dominates the figure	1.08xhits against expected	0.75x to 1.61x	104 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,327 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure	−1%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−23% to +27%	29 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,471 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	+1%review growth against same-age games	−11% to +14%	29 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,933 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 old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 9
Expected: 8.1

Launches: 104
Hit rate: 7.8%4.8% to 13.7%
Expected rate: 7.8%
Against expected: 1.08x0.75x to 1.61x

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

103 launches

Estimated 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: $455
Top tenth: $34,727

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 109
Prior 12 months: 76

Change: +43%
Against Steam: +2%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Character CustomizationNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
PvENot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The 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.

More with Character Customization

pairs with Character Customization

Open World + Character Customization$4,55339 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Character Customization$4,44639 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
Dungeon Crawler + Character Customization$3,45838 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
Character Customization + Choices Matter$3,15735 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
Choose Your Own Adventure + Character Customization$2,97334 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
RPG + Character Customization$2,832132 launches priced, 170 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Character Customization

More with PvE

pairs with PvE

Co-op + PvE$16,63155 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
Online Co-Op + PvE$5,26063 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
Multiplayer + PvE$2,00370 launches priced, 120 releases in 12 months
PvE + Deckbuilding$1,11233 launches priced, 40 releases in 12 months
Dungeon Crawler + PvE$1,06262 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
Hack and Slash + PvE$1,06166 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months

Every pair with PvE

Verdicts

in development

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