Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Puzzle + Cats: a typical launch earns $852 in its first year
That is the median of 124 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 258 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 37% on the year before: 203 against 148.
- Price
- $852 median of 124 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −34.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 203 148 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 183 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 837 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. | 0.04%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.03% to 0.06% | 16 ranked of 183 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,712 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.24xhits against expected | 0.85x to 2.04x | 258 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,566 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −7%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −22% to +9% | 82 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,663 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −7%review growth against same-age games | −13% to −2% | 82 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,135 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
- 258
- Hit rate
- 1.9%0.8% to 4.0%
- Expected rate
- 1.3%
- Against expected
- 1.24x0.85x to 2.04x
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
258 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
- $115
- Median
- $969
- Top tenth
- $5,377
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
- +37%
- Against Steam
- 0%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.
- CATO: Buttered Cat (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,804 reviews, 98% positiveest. $417k
- Find Matt's Cats (opens the Steam store)2026 · 730 reviews, 98% positiveest. $296k
- A Tower Full of Cats (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,307 reviews, 99% positiveest. $267k
- Schrodinger's Cat Burglar (opens the Steam store)2026 · 622 reviews, 97% positiveest. $252k
- Quilts and Cats of Calico (opens the Steam store)2024 · 407 reviews, 93% positiveest. $165k
- A Building Full of Cats 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,157 reviews, 97% positiveest. $164k
- HER TREES : PUZZLE DREAM (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,960 reviews, 97% positiveest. $158k
- A Planet Full of Cats (opens the Steam store)2026 · 594 reviews, 89% positiveest. $96k
More with Puzzle
pairs with Puzzle- Puzzle + Open World$3,68033 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
- Metroidvania + Puzzle$2,32437 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Visual Novel$2,10397 launches priced, 167 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Story Rich$2,000292 launches priced, 408 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Co-op$1,92037 launches priced, 77 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Dark Humor$1,87830 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
More with Cats
pairs with Cats- Adventure + Cats$1,84443 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
- Family Friendly + Cats$1,33045 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Point & Click + Cats$1,12857 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
- Cats + Cozy$1,10583 launches priced, 142 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Cats$887143 launches priced, 201 releases in 12 months
- Cats + Wholesome$88478 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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