Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Puzzle + Co-op: a typical launch earns $1,920 in its first year
That is the median of 37 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 7 of 80 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 88% on the year before: 77 against 41.
- Price
- $1,920 median of 37 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −67.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 77 41 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 195 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 531 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.
| 0.49%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.13% to 0.86% | 19 ranked of 195 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,528 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.34xhits against expected | 0.92x to 2.06x | 80 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,185 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −23%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −44% to +6% | 40 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,063 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +1%review growth against same-age games | −13% to +19% | 40 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,934 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
- 80
- Hit rate
- 8.8%3.9% to 19.1%
- Expected rate
- 5.6%
- Against expected
- 1.34x0.92x 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
80 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
- $78
- Median
- $1,848
- Top tenth
- $81,168
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
- +88%
- Against Steam
- +32%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.
- Escape Simulator 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,415 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.7M
- POPUCOM (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,435 reviews, 87% positiveest. $891k
- In Sink: A Co-op Escape Adventure (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,445 reviews, 86% positiveest. $439k
- SOS OPS! (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,198 reviews, 83% positiveest. $424k
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,008 reviews, 69% positiveest. $408k
- Mosa Lina (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,023 reviews, 95% positiveest. $327k
- Scarlet Idol (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,609 reviews, 66% positiveest. $237k
- WheelMates (opens the Steam store)2026 · 582 reviews, 74% positiveest. $236k
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 + Dark Humor$1,87830 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Emotional$1,77835 launches priced, 74 releases in 12 months
More with Co-op
pairs with Co-op- Co-op + PvE$16,63155 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + First-Person$11,81190 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + Action Roguelike$10,63341 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Survival + Co-op$7,36134 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Co-op$7,08089 launches priced, 127 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Co-op$6,44568 launches priced, 108 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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