Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Difficult + Cute: a typical launch earns $1,092 in its first year

That is the median of 57 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 98 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 15% on the year before: 51 against 60.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $1,092
Price vs a year earlier: −46.0%
Releases, 12 months: 51
Upcoming games: 120
Games on the store: 524

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.

Difficult + Cute 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.	0.09%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.04% to 0.12%	9 ranked of 120 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,891 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. One game dominates the figure	1.11xhits against expected	0.76x to 1.75x	98 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,162 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+59%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+15% to +115%	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	#116 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+1%review growth against same-age games	−12% to +16%	23 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#768 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: 6
Expected: 5.1

Launches: 98
Hit rate: 6.1%3.5% to 14.4%
Expected rate: 5.2%
Against expected: 1.11x0.76x to 1.75x

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

98 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: $55
Median: $1,213
Top tenth: $46,802

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: 51
Prior 12 months: 60

Change: −15%
Against Steam: −36%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

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

pairs with Difficult

RPG + Difficult$8,09240 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Roguelike + Difficult$3,64173 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
Roguelite + Difficult$3,03570 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
Difficult + Action Roguelike$2,42672 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
Difficult + Souls-like$2,12341 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Difficult + Bullet Hell$2,12150 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Difficult

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

Verdicts

in development

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