Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Open World + Cute: a typical launch earns $5,886 in its first year

That is the median of 34 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 14 of 66 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 18% on the year before: 33 against 40.

Price: $5,886
Price vs a year earlier: −79.5%
Releases, 12 months: 33
Upcoming games: 163
Games on the store: 390

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.

Open World + Cute 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. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	0.75%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.13% to 1.91%	34 ranked of 163 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#4,395 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.55xhits against expected	1.13x to 2.11x	66 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#625 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+70%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+14% to +144%	35 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#57 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+6%review growth against same-age games	−5% to +20%	35 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#539 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 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: 14
Expected: 8.0

Launches: 66
Hit rate: 21.2%14.5% to 32.3%
Expected rate: 12.0%
Against expected: 1.55x1.13x to 2.11x

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

66 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: $141
Median: $6,744
Top tenth: $407,758

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: 33
Prior 12 months: 40

Change: −18%
Against Steam: −38%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Open WorldNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
CuteNot 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 Open World

pairs with Open World

Open World + Multiplayer$15,60236 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
Open World + Open World Survival Craft$14,79431 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
Open World + Life Sim$13,38736 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Open World + Crafting$7,48760 launches priced, 105 releases in 12 months
Driving + Open World$6,51131 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
Building + Open World$5,98741 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Open World

More with Cute

pairs with Cute

Cute + Romance$5,22277 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Cute$3,396163 launches priced, 188 releases in 12 months
Cute + LGBTQ+$2,97434 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
Psychological Horror + Cute$2,84651 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
Visual Novel + Cute$2,798212 launches priced, 288 releases in 12 months
Cute + Emotional$2,67167 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Cute

Verdicts

in development

GMD 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.