Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Exploration / Action RPG
Exploration + Action RPG: a typical launch earns $606 in its first year
That is the median of 173 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 33 of 340 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 31.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 19% on the year before: 249 against 210.
- Price
- $606 median of 173 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −19.5% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 249 210 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,132 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,163 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.
| 6.80%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 2.89% to 12.59% | 150 ranked of 1,132 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #3,848 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.03xhits against expected | 0.81x to 1.32x | 340 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,586 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +14%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −6% to +32% | 77 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #955 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 | −10% to +10% | 77 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #845 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
- 340
- Hit rate
- 9.7%5.8% to 13.0%
- Expected rate
- 9.4%
- Against expected
- 1.03x0.81x to 1.32x
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
340 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
- $0
- Median
- $607
- Top tenth
- $88,277
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
- +19%
- Against Steam
- −13%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- ExplorationNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Action RPGGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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.
No Rest for the Wicked (opens the Steam store)2024 · 66,299 reviews, 80% positiveest. $47M
Drova - Forsaken Kin (opens the Steam store)2024 · 9,472 reviews, 93% positiveest. $4.6M
Farever (opens the Steam store)2026 · 9,016 reviews, 75% positiveest. $3.6M
METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Guns of the Patriots - Master Collection Version (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,565 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.6M
FlyKnight Enhanced Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 10,492 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.3M
Castlevania Dominus Collection (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,384 reviews, 94% positiveest. $1.2M
Towers of Aghasba (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,905 reviews, 67% positiveest. $1.2M
Cat Quest III (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,124 reviews, 94% positiveest. $1.1M
More with Exploration
pairs with Exploration- Exploration + Cozy$24,01549 launches priced, 99 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Open World Survival Craft$13,97334 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
- Driving + Exploration$10,40830 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Multiplayer$8,00174 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Online Co-Op$7,08069 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + Exploration$5,14762 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months
More with Action RPG
pairs with Action RPG- Action RPG + Loot$5,00732 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- Action RPG + Female Protagonist$2,63047 launches priced, 67 releases in 12 months
- Action RPG + Isometric$2,42839 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
- Anime + Action RPG$2,40730 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- Action RPG + Dark Fantasy$2,34646 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
- Metroidvania + Action RPG$1,94335 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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