Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Colorful + Idler: a typical launch earns $364 in its first year
That is the median of 57 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 130 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 2.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 164% on the year before: 203 against 77.
- Price
- $364 median of 57 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −35.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 203 77 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 251 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 626 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 | 0.03% to 0.06% | 11 ranked of 251 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,667 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 2.21xhits against expected | 1.52x to 3.31x | 130 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #90 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −52%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −62% to −39% | 23 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,323 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −10%review growth against same-age games | −19% to +2% | 23 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,295 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
- 130
- Hit rate
- 6.9%4.0% to 11.1%
- Expected rate
- 1.9%
- Against expected
- 2.21x1.52x to 3.31x
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
130 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
- $651
- Top tenth
- $38,240
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
- +164%
- Against Steam
- +87%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.
- Shelldiver (opens the Steam store)2025 · 16,989 reviews, 98% positiveest. $1.4M
- Tower Wizard (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,811 reviews, 96% positiveest. $533k
- Digseum (opens the Steam store)2024 · 8,044 reviews, 97% positiveest. $487k
- A Game About Feeding A Black Hole (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,501 reviews, 88% positiveest. $481k
- Click the Button (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,243 reviews, 94% positiveest. $343k
- Keep on Mining! - Worlds (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,914 reviews, 80% positiveest. $271k
- Click and Conquer (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,465 reviews, 92% positiveest. $249k
- Zero Stress King: Idle Defense (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,885 reviews, 87% positiveest. $190k
More with Colorful
pairs with Colorful- Colorful + Cozy$3,63859 launches priced, 123 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Colorful$3,39962 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Colorful$2,68975 launches priced, 112 releases in 12 months
- Colorful + Emotional$2,00335 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- Colorful + Life Sim$1,85851 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- Magic + Colorful$1,66832 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
More with Idler
pairs with Idler- Cozy + Idler$3,51835 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- Collectathon + Idler$1,77756 launches priced, 144 releases in 12 months
- Nature + Idler$1,66633 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
- Management + Idler$1,48690 launches priced, 270 releases in 12 months
- Idler + Creature Collector$1,45476 launches priced, 140 releases in 12 months
- Building + Idler$1,44436 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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