Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Point & Click / Story Rich
Point & Click + Story Rich: a typical launch earns $2,569 in its first year
That is the median of 170 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 40 of 326 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 32.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 9% on the year before: 208 against 190.
- Price
- $2,569 median of 170 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +44.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 208 190 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 622 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,947 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. | 0.51%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.40% to 0.67% | 87 ranked of 622 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #465 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.21xhits against expected | 0.96x to 1.51x | 326 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,732 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +37%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +18% to +63% | 107 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #349 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +9%review growth against same-age games | +2% to +17% | 107 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #354 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
- 326
- Hit rate
- 12.3%8.1% to 16.6%
- Expected rate
- 10.0%
- Against expected
- 1.21x0.96x to 1.51x
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
326 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
- $121
- Median
- $2,003
- Top tenth
- $129,972
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
- +9%
- Against Steam
- −20%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Point & ClickGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Story RichNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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.
- Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut (opens the Steam store)2023 · 32,257 reviews, 96% positiveest. $11M
- The Roottrees are Dead (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,792 reviews, 96% positiveest. $3.3M
- The Drifter (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,763 reviews, 97% positiveest. $1.9M
- No Case Should Remain Unsolved (opens the Steam store)2024 · 10,382 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.3M
- Beholder: Conductor (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,658 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.3M
- American Arcadia (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,147 reviews, 94% positiveest. $1.2M
- The Mermaid Mask (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,880 reviews, 99% positiveest. $1.2M
- Boxes: Lost Fragments (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,254 reviews, 92% positiveest. $946k
Related niches
pairs with Point & Click- Point & Click + Investigation$4,85753 launches priced, 84 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Female Protagonist$3,03141 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Mystery$2,426120 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Psychological Horror$2,30264 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Detective$2,10470 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Cozy$1,86352 launches priced, 123 releases in 12 months
More with Story Rich
pairs with Story Rich- Story Rich + Narrative$13,10440 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Historical$9,68533 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Investigation$8,90370 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based Strategy + Story Rich$8,09741 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Supernatural$5,82533 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Dating Sim$5,71476 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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