Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Old School + Retro: a typical launch earns $384 in its first year

That is the median of 94 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 12 of 190 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 11.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 23% on the year before: 139 against 113.

Price: $384
Price vs a year earlier: −67.3%
Releases, 12 months: 139
Upcoming games: 259
Games on the store: 1,087

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.

Old School + Retro 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.	0.17%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.10% to 0.24%	29 ranked of 259 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,179 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.06xhits against expected	0.75x to 1.54x	190 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,451 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 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: 12
Expected: 11.2

Launches: 190
Hit rate: 6.3%3.6% to 10.6%
Expected rate: 5.9%
Against expected: 1.06x0.75x to 1.54x

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

190 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: $0
Median: $674
Top tenth: $30,898

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: 139
Prior 12 months: 113

Change: +23%

Parent tags

Old SchoolNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
RetroNot 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 Old School

pairs with Old School

First-Person + Old School$2,12537 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Old School + 1990's$1,80034 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
Shooter + Old School$1,55845 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
Old School + 3D$83942 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
RPG + Old School$62748 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
Adventure + Old School$60767 launches priced, 82 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Old School

More with Retro

pairs with Retro

Story Rich + Retro$3,28551 launches priced, 77 releases in 12 months
Psychological Horror + Retro$1,59566 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
Horror + Retro$1,574105 launches priced, 151 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Retro$1,45461 launches priced, 124 releases in 12 months
Retro + 1990's$1,41683 launches priced, 147 releases in 12 months
Retro + Mystery$1,40436 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Retro

Verdicts

in development

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