Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / First-Person / Realistic
First-Person + Realistic: a typical launch earns $1,372 in its first year
That is the median of 400 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 65 of 793 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 47.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 8% on the year before: 501 against 466.
- Price
- $1,372 median of 400 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +3.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 501 466 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,224 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 3,175 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. | 1.78%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.85% to 2.62% | 140 ranked of 1,224 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #127 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.35xhits against expected | 1.12x to 1.62x | 793 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,163 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +24%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +8% to +49% | 148 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #636 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −3%review growth against same-age games | −12% to +9% | 148 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,145 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
- 793
- Hit rate
- 8.2%5.3% to 9.6%
- Expected rate
- 6.0%
- Against expected
- 1.35x1.12x to 1.62x
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
793 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
- $61
- Median
- $1,454
- Top tenth
- $48,861
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
- +8%
- Against Steam
- −21%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- First-PersonNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- RealisticNot 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.
- Bodycam (opens the Steam store)2024 · 63,261 reviews, 80% positiveest. $42M
- Farming Simulator 25 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 40,166 reviews, 87% positiveest. $24M
- Assetto Corsa EVO (opens the Steam store)2025 · 16,629 reviews, 60% positiveest. $13M
- Drive Beyond Horizons (opens the Steam store)2025 · 17,980 reviews, 77% positiveest. $9M
- My Winter Car (opens the Steam store)2025 · 18,800 reviews, 94% positiveest. $5.7M
- IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator (opens the Steam store)2026 · 13,930 reviews, 97% positiveest. $5.3M
- Quarantine Zone: The Last Check (opens the Steam store)2026 · 11,911 reviews, 81% positiveest. $4.7M
- Road to Vostok (opens the Steam store)2026 · 8,714 reviews, 84% positiveest. $3.5M
More with First-Person
pairs with First-Person- Co-op + First-Person$11,81190 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Economy$9,96156 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
- Building + First-Person$7,38241 launches priced, 60 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Management$7,08093 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + First-Person$6,99934 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- First-Person + Online Co-Op$5,747102 launches priced, 173 releases in 12 months
More with Realistic
pairs with Realistic- Multiplayer + Realistic$17,04044 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Management$13,70546 launches priced, 74 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Economy$10,95531 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Life Sim$6,57659 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Realistic$5,46362 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Thriller + Realistic$3,21454 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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