Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Lore-Rich + 2D: a typical launch earns $1,584 in its first year
That is the median of 48 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 4 of 115 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 77% on the year before: 110 against 62.
- Price
- $1,584 median of 48 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +185.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 110 62 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 338 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 666 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. | 0.15%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.08% to 0.25% | 21 ranked of 338 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,288 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.77xhits against expected | 0.53x to 1.29x | 115 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,293 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −16%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −37% to +5% | 19 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,895 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +4%review growth against same-age games | 0% to +12% | 19 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,752 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
- 115
- Hit rate
- 3.5%0.0% to 7.1%
- Expected rate
- 5.3%
- Against expected
- 0.77x0.53x to 1.29x
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
115 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
- $28
- Median
- $566
- Top tenth
- $13,559
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
- +77%
- Against Steam
- +24%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.
- In Stars And Time (opens the Steam store)2023 · 7,879 reviews, 96% positiveest. $3.2M
- Voidwrought (opens the Steam store)2024 · 944 reviews, 78% positiveest. $382k
- Winion Virus (opens the Steam store)2024 · 982 reviews, 94% positiveest. $219k
- Tombwater (opens the Steam store)2026 · 286 reviews, 92% positiveest. $145k
- Creepy Tale: Some Other Place (opens the Steam store)2024 · 543 reviews, 93% positiveest. $110k
- myPOPGOES (opens the Steam store)2024 · 752 reviews, 86% positiveest. $76k
- Duskpunk (opens the Steam store)2025 · 174 reviews, 91% positiveest. $70k
- Heroines of Swords & Spells 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 264 reviews, 93% positiveest. $53k
More with Lore-Rich
pairs with Lore-Rich- Lore-Rich + Multiple Endings$2,52732 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Lore-Rich$2,32451 launches priced, 84 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Lore-Rich$2,02371 launches priced, 120 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Lore-Rich$1,61965 launches priced, 106 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Lore-Rich$1,57238 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Lore-Rich$1,49149 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
More with 2D
pairs with 2D- 2D + Roguelike Deckbuilder$6,77234 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Romance$3,28176 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
- War + 2D$3,16035 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Dating Sim$2,55991 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
- 2D + LGBTQ+$2,46550 launches priced, 85 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Historical$2,32474 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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