Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Idler / Auto Battler
Idler + Auto Battler: a typical launch earns $505 in its first year
That is the median of 45 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 96 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 1.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 207% on the year before: 166 against 54.
- Price
- $505 median of 45 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −70.2% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 166 54 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 276 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 594 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. | 0.10%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.05% to 0.13% | 13 ranked of 276 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,788 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.99xhits against expected | 1.35x to 3.13x | 96 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #163 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
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
- 96
- Hit rate
- 6.3%4.0% to 15.2%
- Expected rate
- 1.6%
- Against expected
- 1.99x1.35x to 3.13x
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
96 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
- $60
- Median
- $819
- Top tenth
- $66,225
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
- +207%
Parent tags
- IdlerGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Auto BattlerGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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.
- Cauldron (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,691 reviews, 92% positiveest. $513k
- Fish Game (opens the Steam store)2023 · 596 reviews, 92% positiveest. $302k
- Master Healer Kale with useless party (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,012 reviews, 95% positiveest. $203k
- Legends of Dragaea: Idle Dungeons (opens the Steam store)2025 · 986 reviews, 86% positiveest. $199k
- Desktop Defender (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,767 reviews, 92% positiveest. $179k
- Loot Loop (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,722 reviews, 92% positiveest. $174k
- Nomad Idle (opens the Steam store)2025 · 859 reviews, 64% positiveest. $174k
- Flash Doll (opens the Steam store)2024 · 861 reviews, 80% positiveest. $157k
More with Idler
pairs with Idler- Cozy + Idler$3,51835 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- Collectathon + Idler$1,77756 launches priced, 144 releases in 12 months
- Nature + Idler$1,66633 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
- Management + Idler$1,48690 launches priced, 270 releases in 12 months
- Idler + Creature Collector$1,45476 launches priced, 140 releases in 12 months
- Building + Idler$1,44436 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
More with Auto Battler
pairs with Auto Battler- Deckbuilding + Auto Battler$8,45742 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Card Battler + Auto Battler$3,75930 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Auto Battler$3,39375 launches priced, 156 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Auto Battler$2,67141 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Auto Battler$1,81961 launches priced, 156 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Auto Battler$1,51640 launches priced, 148 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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