Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Horror / Choices Matter
Horror + Choices Matter: a typical launch earns $1,656 in its first year
That is the median of 118 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 22 of 242 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 11.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 39% on the year before: 197 against 142.
- Price
- $1,656 median of 118 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −24.1% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 197 142 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 431 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,040 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. | 0.23%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.18% to 0.27% | 48 ranked of 431 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #958 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.75xhits against expected | 1.31x to 2.35x | 242 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #327 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +4%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −16% to +27% | 69 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,304 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +6%review growth against same-age games | −4% to +16% | 69 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #513 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
- 242
- Hit rate
- 9.1%6.2% to 11.8%
- Expected rate
- 4.7%
- Against expected
- 1.75x1.31x to 2.35x
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
242 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
- $81
- Median
- $1,416
- Top tenth
- $52,129
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
- +39%
- Against Steam
- +2%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- HorrorGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Choices MatterNot 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.
Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut (opens the Steam store)2023 · 32,257 reviews, 96% positiveest. $11M
No, I'm not a Human (opens the Steam store)2025 · 27,403 reviews, 93% positiveest. $8.2M
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,126 reviews, 89% positiveest. $4.2M
The Casting of Frank Stone™ (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,599 reviews, 62% positiveest. $3.3M
Homicipher (opens the Steam store)2024 · 7,840 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2M
Pathologic 3 (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,532 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1.8M
SKALD: Against the Black Priory (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,339 reviews, 93% positiveest. $1M
Cabernet (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,046 reviews, 94% positiveest. $791k
More with Horror
pairs with Horror- Horror + Co-op$7,08089 launches priced, 127 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Online Co-Op$5,819120 launches priced, 169 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Multiplayer$5,680106 launches priced, 172 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Lovecraftian$3,41850 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Roguelike$3,33937 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Text-Based$2,83130 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
More with Choices Matter
pairs with Choices Matter- Choices Matter + Management$6,87135 launches priced, 79 releases in 12 months
- Mystery + Choices Matter$6,00949 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
- Choices Matter + Dating Sim$4,06442 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Choices Matter$3,339128 launches priced, 212 releases in 12 months
- Character Customization + Choices Matter$3,15735 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Choices Matter$3,038225 launches priced, 352 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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