Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Exploration + Pixel Graphics: a typical launch earns $609 in its first year

That is the median of 262 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 41 of 513 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 29.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 16% on the year before: 368 against 318.

Price: $609
Price vs a year earlier: −32.5%
Releases, 12 months: 368
Upcoming games: 1,278
Games on the store: 2,901

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.

Exploration + Pixel Graphics 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.	2.32%share of upcoming wishlist heat	1.33% to 3.62%	140 ranked of 1,278 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#94 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.34xhits against expected	1.06x to 1.68x	513 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,204 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure	+20%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+1% to +36%	124 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#769 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	+2%review growth against same-age games	−4% to +9%	124 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,883 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: 41
Expected: 29.9

Launches: 513
Hit rate: 8.0%5.9% to 12.5%
Expected rate: 5.8%
Against expected: 1.34x1.06x to 1.68x

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

513 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: $0
Median: $809
Top tenth: $61,844

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: 368
Prior 12 months: 318

Change: +16%
Against Steam: −15%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.
Pixel GraphicsNot 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 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

Every pair with Exploration

More with Pixel Graphics

pairs with Pixel Graphics

Pixel Graphics + Tactical RPG$3,27132 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
Metroidvania + Pixel Graphics$2,73164 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Turn-Based Combat$2,18391 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Collectathon$1,85847 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Pixel Graphics$1,849182 launches priced, 221 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Female Protagonist$1,69299 launches priced, 140 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Pixel Graphics

Verdicts

in development

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