Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Horror + Dark: a typical launch earns $1,092 in its first year

That is the median of 417 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 43 of 828 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 31.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 10% on the year before: 533 against 484.

Price: $1,092
Price vs a year earlier: −24.9%
Releases, 12 months: 533
Upcoming games: 1,302
Games on the store: 3,477

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.

Horror + Dark 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.	0.86%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.72% to 1.07%	147 ranked of 1,302 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#269 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	1.07x to 1.68x	828 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,190 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+41%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+24% to +58%	184 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#292 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+14%review growth against same-age games	+7% to +21%	184 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#126 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: 43
Expected: 31.3

Launches: 828
Hit rate: 5.2%3.8% to 8.6%
Expected rate: 3.8%
Against expected: 1.34x1.07x 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

828 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: $55
Median: $1,091
Top tenth: $31,033

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: 533
Prior 12 months: 484

Change: +10%
Against Steam: −19%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

HorrorGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
DarkNot 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 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

Every pair with Horror

More with Dark

pairs with Dark

RPG + Dark$3,32642 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
Dark + Female Protagonist$3,04831 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
Dark + Supernatural$2,48942 launches priced, 63 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Dark$2,427120 launches priced, 161 releases in 12 months
Dark + Choices Matter$2,30338 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Visual Novel + Dark$1,85867 launches priced, 112 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Dark

Verdicts

in development

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