Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Cute + Idler: a typical launch earns $606 in its first year

That is the median of 137 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 17 of 280 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 102% on the year before: 350 against 173.

China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese

Price: $606
Price vs a year earlier: −48.1%
Releases, 12 months: 350
Upcoming games: 493
Games on the store: 1,170

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 + Idler 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.	0.13%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.07% to 0.19%	17 ranked of 493 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,481 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese Listed after unflagged rows on this board	2.47xhits against expected	1.79x to 3.43x	280 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#5,818 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−39%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−49% to −26%	45 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,267 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	−20% to +2%	45 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,303 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: 17
Expected: 5.1

Launches: 280
Hit rate: 6.1%3.1% to 11.3%
Expected rate: 1.8%
Against expected: 2.47x1.79x to 3.43x

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

280 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: $20
Median: $764
Top tenth: $36,804

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: 350
Prior 12 months: 173

Change: +102%
Against Steam: +47%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.
IdlerGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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 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

Every pair with Idler

Verdicts

in development

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