Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Dark + Interactive Fiction: a typical launch earns $484 in its first year

That is the median of 41 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 3 of 71 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 2.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 27% on the year before: 43 against 59.

China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
One game dominates the figure

Price: $484
Price vs a year earlier: −44.9%
Releases, 12 months: 43
Upcoming games: 144
Games on the store: 361

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.

Dark + Interactive Fiction 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.	Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 5 or more wishlist-ranked upcoming games.
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 One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	1.07xhits against expected	0.75x to 1.82x	71 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#6,017 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese	+89%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+43% to +153%	20 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#14 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese	+5%review growth against same-age games	−4% to +17%	20 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#585 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: 3
Expected: 2.6

Launches: 71
Hit rate: 4.2%1.4% to 8.6%
Expected rate: 3.6%
Against expected: 1.07x0.75x to 1.82x

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

71 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: $81
Median: $685
Top tenth: $11,887

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: 43
Prior 12 months: 59

Change: −27%
Against Steam: −45%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

DarkNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
Interactive FictionGenre 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 Dark

pairs with Dark

RPG + Dark$3,32642 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
Dark + Female Protagonist$3,04831 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
Dark + Supernatural$2,48942 launches priced, 63 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Dark$2,427120 launches priced, 161 releases in 12 months
Dark + Choices Matter$2,30338 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Visual Novel + Dark$1,85867 launches priced, 112 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Dark

More with Interactive Fiction

pairs with Interactive Fiction

Interactive Fiction + FMV$39,86745 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
Cinematic + Interactive Fiction$4,18748 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
Interactive Fiction + LGBTQ+$4,04637 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Dating Sim + Interactive Fiction$3,15892 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
Romance + Interactive Fiction$3,13063 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Interactive Fiction$2,268207 launches priced, 343 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Interactive Fiction

Verdicts

in development

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