Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Physics + Cute: a typical launch earns $727 in its first year
That is the median of 71 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 136 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 42% on the year before: 115 against 81.
- Price
- $727 median of 71 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +28.9% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 115 81 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 255 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 715 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. | 0.08%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.05% to 0.14% | 17 ranked of 255 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,966 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.37xhits against expected | 0.95x to 2.06x | 136 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,082 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +15%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −12% to +49% | 22 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #935 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +18%review growth against same-age games | +4% to +44% | 22 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #51 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
- 136
- Hit rate
- 6.6%4.3% to 10.8%
- Expected rate
- 4.2%
- Against expected
- 1.37x0.95x to 2.06x
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
136 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
- $0
- Median
- $636
- Top tenth
- $44,095
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
- +42%
- Against Steam
- +3%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.
- Berry Bury Berry (opens the Steam store)2026 · 8,690 reviews, 98% positiveest. $1.4M
- Hozy (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,256 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1.2M
- Ballionaire (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,406 reviews, 85% positiveest. $601k
- World of Goo 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 805 reviews, 87% positiveest. $489k
- Sledding Game (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,963 reviews, 96% positiveest. $479k
- SOS OPS! (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,198 reviews, 83% positiveest. $424k
- WHAT THE CAR? (opens the Steam store)2024 · 814 reviews, 84% positiveest. $330k
- Cozy Island (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,463 reviews, 92% positiveest. $261k
More with Physics
pairs with Physics- Building + Physics$2,16430 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Physics$2,06074 launches priced, 123 releases in 12 months
- Multiplayer + Physics$1,72852 launches priced, 181 releases in 12 months
- Comedy + Physics$1,61742 launches priced, 99 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Physics$1,24262 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Physics$1,11244 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
More with Cute
pairs with Cute- Open World + Cute$5,88634 launches priced, 33 releases in 12 months
- 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
Verdicts
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