Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Cute + Emotional: a typical launch earns $2,671 in its first year

That is the median of 67 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 14 of 122 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 12.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 11% on the year before: 92 against 83.

Price: $2,671
Price vs a year earlier: −46.7%
Releases, 12 months: 92
Upcoming games: 182
Games on the store: 574

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.

Cute + Emotional 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.	0.14%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.07% to 0.23%	19 ranked of 182 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,365 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.09xhits against expected	0.78x to 1.52x	122 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,297 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	+15%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−13% to +53%	52 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#914 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	−6%review growth against same-age games	−18% to +6%	52 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#2,345 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: 14
Expected: 12.7

Launches: 122
Hit rate: 11.5%4.2% to 23.8%
Expected rate: 10.4%
Against expected: 1.09x0.78x to 1.52x

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

122 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: $100
Median: $2,680
Top tenth: $106,310

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: 92
Prior 12 months: 83

Change: +11%
Against Steam: −19%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

CuteNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
EmotionalNot 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 Cute

pairs with Cute

Open World + Cute$5,88634 launches priced, 33 releases in 12 months
Cute + Romance$5,22277 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Cute$3,396163 launches priced, 188 releases in 12 months
Cute + LGBTQ+$2,97434 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
Psychological Horror + Cute$2,84651 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
Visual Novel + Cute$2,798212 launches priced, 288 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Cute

More with Emotional

pairs with Emotional

Emotional + Hand-drawn$3,75736 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Emotional$3,130121 launches priced, 200 releases in 12 months
Emotional + Multiple Endings$3,03442 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
Anime + Emotional$2,67157 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
Adventure + Emotional$2,488136 launches priced, 194 releases in 12 months
Romance + Emotional$2,42738 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Emotional

Verdicts

in development

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