Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Dark / Multiple Endings
Dark + Multiple Endings: a typical launch earns $808 in its first year
That is the median of 51 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 110 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 48% on the year before: 86 against 58.
- China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $808 median of 51 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −57.9% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 86 58 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 176 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 457 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. | 0.10%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.07% to 0.15% | 15 ranked of 176 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,684 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.94xhits against expected | 0.64x to 1.51x | 110 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #6,111 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −12%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −34% to +20% | 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 | #1,792 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −6%review growth against same-age games | −15% to +3% | 23 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,340 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
- 110
- Hit rate
- 4.5%2.7% to 9.7%
- Expected rate
- 5.0%
- Against expected
- 0.94x0.64x to 1.51x
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
110 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
- $81
- Median
- $1,030
- Top tenth
- $20,152
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
- +48%
- Against Steam
- +7%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.
- Multiple EndingsNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
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.
- The Coffin of Andy and Leyley (opens the Steam store)2023 · 36,744 reviews, 96% positiveest. $8.5M
- No, I'm not a Human (opens the Steam store)2025 · 27,403 reviews, 93% positiveest. $8.2M
- The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty (opens the Steam store)2024 · 49,862 reviews, 94% positiveest. $5.8M
- Money for Girls: Amortized (opens the Steam store)2026 · 918 reviews, 98% positiveest. $279k
- Hollow Cocoon (opens the Steam store)2023 · 867 reviews, 92% positiveest. $263k
- You Will Die Here Tonight (opens the Steam store)2023 · 596 reviews, 89% positiveest. $241k
- THRESHOLD (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,105 reviews, 84% positiveest. $224k
- Mojika - Truth Rears Its Ugly Head (opens the Steam store)2025 · 412 reviews, 77% positiveest. $208k
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
More with Multiple Endings
pairs with Multiple Endings- Multiple Endings + Dating Sim$6,57961 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Multiple Endings + LGBTQ+$5,85936 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Anime + Multiple Endings$4,54757 launches priced, 118 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Multiple Endings$3,943122 launches priced, 197 releases in 12 months
- Multiple Endings + Immersive Sim$3,52746 launches priced, 40 releases in 12 months
- Romance + Multiple Endings$3,17648 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.