Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Fantasy + Cute: a typical launch earns $970 in its first year
That is the median of 120 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 13 of 246 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 18.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 23% on the year before: 180 against 146.
- Price
- $970 median of 120 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −7.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 180 146 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 395 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,203 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. | 0.19%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.13% to 0.27% | 31 ranked of 396 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,106 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.73xhits against expected | 0.52x to 1.05x | 246 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,555 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +9%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −10% to +30% | 47 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,145 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 +6% | 47 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #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 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
- 246
- Hit rate
- 5.3%2.0% to 9.2%
- Expected rate
- 7.7%
- Against expected
- 0.73x0.52x to 1.05x
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
246 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
- $1,040
- Top tenth
- $30,392
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
- +23%
- Against Steam
- −10%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
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.
- Rabbit and Steel (opens the Steam store)2024 · 10,195 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2.9M
- Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,745 reviews, 93% positiveest. $1.6M
- Moonlight Peaks (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,823 reviews, 88% positiveest. $1.3M
- Princess Maker: Children of Revelation (opens the Steam store)2025 · 895 reviews, 86% positiveest. $634k
- Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,244 reviews, 77% positiveest. $630k
- YOHANE THE PARHELION -BLAZE in the DEEPBLUE- (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,015 reviews, 92% positiveest. $616k
- Fretless - The Wrath of Riffson (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,410 reviews, 98% positiveest. $428k
- Journey of Realm:Dawn Dew (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,295 reviews, 97% positiveest. $309k
More with Fantasy
pairs with Fantasy- Fantasy + Strategy RPG$6,98232 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- Fantasy + Tactical RPG$3,23736 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Fantasy + Multiple Endings$3,03445 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Fantasy + Female Protagonist$2,18571 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months
- Fantasy + Character Customization$2,14452 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
- Fantasy + Dungeon Crawler$1,86172 launches priced, 121 releases in 12 months
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
Verdicts
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