Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Mystery / Dialogue Heavy
Mystery + Dialogue Heavy: 29 releases in the last 12 months
There is no price yet: it needs 30 or more indie paid launches in the last four complete quarters. 1 of 35 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 2.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 53% on the year before: 29 against 19.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 29 19 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 104 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 200 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.
| 0.26%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.03% to 0.69% | 14 ranked of 104 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,862 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.69xhits against expected | 0.55x to 1.23x | 35 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,804 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
- 35
- Hit rate
- 2.9%0.0% to 13.0%
- Expected rate
- 8.1%
- Against expected
- 0.69x0.55x to 1.23x
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
35 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
- $29
- Median
- $1,112
- Top tenth
- $39,999
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
- +53%
Parent tags
- MysteryNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Dialogue HeavyNot 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.
- Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged (opens the Steam store)2024 · 958 reviews, 93% positiveest. $582k
- Detective Sherlock: Shadow Stalker (opens the Steam store)2026 · 429 reviews, 88% positiveest. $174k
- Expelled! (opens the Steam store)2025 · 224 reviews, 92% positiveest. $68k
- Flower in Us (opens the Steam store)2025 · 411 reviews, 93% positiveest. $66k
- Gensokyo:Presumption of Guilt~Pansies Before Dawn (opens the Steam store)2026 · 250 reviews, 92% positiveest. $42k
- The Real Face of a VTuber (opens the Steam store)2026 · 280 reviews, 90% positiveest. $37k
- The 257th Element (opens the Steam store)2024 · 47 reviews, 95% positiveest. $10k to $100k
- Beyond R: Rule Ripper (opens the Steam store)2025 · 32 reviews, 90% positiveest. $10k to $100k
More with Mystery
pairs with Mystery- Mystery + Choices Matter$6,00949 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
- Anime + Mystery$5,55743 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
- Mystery + Female Protagonist$5,30753 launches priced, 76 releases in 12 months
- Detective + Mystery$5,207106 launches priced, 184 releases in 12 months
- Cinematic + Mystery$4,60234 launches priced, 41 releases in 12 months
- Surreal + Mystery$4,52440 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months
More with Dialogue Heavy
pairs with Dialogue Heavy- Visual Novel + Dialogue Heavy$2,12352 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Dialogue Heavy$1,90555 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Dialogue Heavy$1,20848 launches priced, 103 releases in 12 months
- Choices Matter + Dialogue Heavy$82744 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Dialogue Heavy$60551 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Dialogue Heavy$50537 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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