Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Music + Rhythm: a typical launch earns $1,314 in its first year
That is the median of 39 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 16 of 86 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 58% on the year before: 79 against 50.
- Price
- $1,314 median of 39 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −10.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 79 50 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 180 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 653 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. | 0.18%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.10% to 0.26% | 21 ranked of 180 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,159 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.61xhits against expected | 1.18x to 2.17x | 86 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #541 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −19%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −40% to +8% | 38 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,963 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −8%review growth against same-age games | −20% to +1% | 38 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,208 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
- 86
- Hit rate
- 18.6%12.4% to 24.2%
- Expected rate
- 10.3%
- Against expected
- 1.61x1.18x to 2.17x
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
86 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
- $70
- Median
- $2,668
- Top tenth
- $271,987
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
- +58%
- Against Steam
- +13%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.
- Dead as Disco (opens the Steam store)2026 · 12,604 reviews, 96% positiveest. $6.3M
- UNBEATABLE (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,647 reviews, 92% positiveest. $3.8M
- Rift of the NecroDancer (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,934 reviews, 93% positiveest. $2.3M
- Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,003 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.3M
- Ratatan (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,454 reviews, 85% positiveest. $1.2M
- Everhood 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,209 reviews, 74% positiveest. $894k
- In Falsus (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,092 reviews, 90% positiveest. $884k
- Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,273 reviews, 81% positiveest. $799k
More with Music
pairs with Music- Casual + Music$1,10135 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
- Action + Musicno price40 releases in 12 months
- Music + 2Dno price33 releases in 12 months
- Music + Arcadeno price29 releases in 12 months
- Music + Relaxingno price29 releases in 12 months
- Music + Cuteno price25 releases in 12 months
More with Rhythm
pairs with Rhythm- Rhythm + Cute$1,17234 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
- Rhythm + 2D$44460 launches priced, 117 releases in 12 months
- Rhythm + Arcade$41450 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
- Action + Rhythm$40469 launches priced, 149 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Rhythm$20289 launches priced, 182 releases in 12 months
- Rhythm + 3D$16834 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.