Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Puzzle / Puzzle Platformer
Puzzle + Puzzle Platformer: a typical launch earns $202 in its first year
That is the median of 405 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 18 of 800 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 33.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 11% on the year before: 528 against 475.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $202 median of 405 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −27.4% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 528 475 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,197 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 4,185 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. | 0.45%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.30% to 0.65% | 64 ranked of 1,198 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #528 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.58xhits against expected | 0.42x to 0.81x | 800 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,327 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +13%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −1% to +27% | 91 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #986 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −8%review growth against same-age games | −15% to 0% | 91 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,177 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
- 800
- Hit rate
- 2.3%1.1% to 4.0%
- Expected rate
- 4.1%
- Against expected
- 0.58x0.42x to 0.81x
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
800 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
- $0
- Median
- $242
- Top tenth
- $6,828
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
- +11%
- Against Steam
- −18%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- PuzzleGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Puzzle PlatformerGenre 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.
- ANIMAL WELL (opens the Steam store)2024 · 22,873 reviews, 95% positiveest. $10M
- The Talos Principle 2 (opens the Steam store)2023 · 12,503 reviews, 94% positiveest. $7.5M
- Murders on the Yangtze River (opens the Steam store)2024 · 15,887 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2.9M
- Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,745 reviews, 93% positiveest. $1.6M
- Öoo (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,628 reviews, 99% positiveest. $1.1M
- Islands of Insight (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,605 reviews, 75% positiveest. $975k
- LEGO® Voyagers (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,873 reviews, 88% positiveest. $948k
- Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,513 reviews, 89% positiveest. $919k
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 Puzzle Platformer
pairs with Puzzle Platformer- Difficult + Puzzle Platformer$1,93634 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
- Metroidvania + Puzzle Platformer$1,49630 launches priced, 32 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Puzzle Platformer$1,21331 launches priced, 40 releases in 12 months
- Funny + Puzzle Platformer$71548 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Side Scroller + Puzzle Platformer$66760 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- Retro + Puzzle Platformer$64731 launches priced, 34 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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