Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Pixel Graphics + Difficult: a typical launch earns $1,558 in its first year

That is the median of 109 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 11 of 217 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 13.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 15% on the year before: 134 against 117.

Price: $1,558
Price vs a year earlier: +3.6%
Releases, 12 months: 134
Upcoming games: 268
Games on the store: 1,304

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.

Pixel Graphics + Difficult 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.	0.21%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.12% to 0.34%	28 ranked of 268 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,014 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	0.87xhits against expected	0.61x to 1.28x	217 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#3,644 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	−3% to +48%	48 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#794 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	0%review growth against same-age games	−10% to +11%	48 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#826 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: 11
Expected: 13.2

Launches: 217
Hit rate: 5.1%3.9% to 11.6%
Expected rate: 6.1%
Against expected: 0.87x0.61x to 1.28x

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

217 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: $32
Median: $1,410
Top tenth: $51,668

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: 134
Prior 12 months: 117

Change: +15%
Against Steam: −16%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Pixel GraphicsNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
DifficultNot 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 Pixel Graphics

pairs with Pixel Graphics

Pixel Graphics + Tactical RPG$3,27132 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
Metroidvania + Pixel Graphics$2,73164 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Turn-Based Combat$2,18391 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Collectathon$1,85847 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Pixel Graphics$1,849182 launches priced, 221 releases in 12 months
Pixel Graphics + Female Protagonist$1,69299 launches priced, 140 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Pixel Graphics

More with Difficult

pairs with Difficult

RPG + Difficult$8,09240 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Roguelike + Difficult$3,64173 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
Roguelite + Difficult$3,03570 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
Difficult + Action Roguelike$2,42672 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
Difficult + Souls-like$2,12341 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Difficult + Bullet Hell$2,12150 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Difficult

Verdicts

in development

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