Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Pixel Graphics / Idler
Pixel Graphics + Idler: a typical launch earns $454 in its first year
That is the median of 112 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 22 of 261 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 201% on the year before: 404 against 134.
- Price
- $454 median of 112 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −29.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 404 134 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 495 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,197 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. | 0.13%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.10% to 0.16% | 26 ranked of 495 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,477 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 3.50xhits against expected | 2.62x to 4.70x | 261 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #7 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
- 261
- Hit rate
- 8.4%6.3% to 13.5%
- Expected rate
- 1.6%
- Against expected
- 3.50x2.62x to 4.70x
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
261 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
- $40
- Median
- $647
- Top tenth
- $76,998
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
- +201%
Parent tags
- Pixel GraphicsNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- IdlerGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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.
- Cast n Chill (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,422 reviews, 94% positiveest. $2.4M
- Tiny Pasture (opens the Steam store)2025 · 7,070 reviews, 92% positiveest. $611k
- Fortune Mill (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,816 reviews, 81% positiveest. $593k
- Tower Wizard (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,811 reviews, 96% positiveest. $533k
- Cauldron (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,691 reviews, 92% positiveest. $513k
- Digseum (opens the Steam store)2024 · 8,044 reviews, 97% positiveest. $487k
- Horripilant (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,979 reviews, 92% positiveest. $482k
- Click the Button (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,243 reviews, 94% positiveest. $343k
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
More with Idler
pairs with Idler- Cozy + Idler$3,51835 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- Collectathon + Idler$1,77756 launches priced, 144 releases in 12 months
- Nature + Idler$1,66633 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
- Management + Idler$1,48690 launches priced, 270 releases in 12 months
- Idler + Creature Collector$1,45476 launches priced, 140 releases in 12 months
- Building + Idler$1,44436 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD 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.