Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Puzzle + Science: 31 releases in the last 12 months
There is no price yet: it needs 30 or more indie paid launches in the last four complete quarters. 1 of 37 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 2.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 55% on the year before: 31 against 20.
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 31 20 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 62 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 226 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. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 5 or more wishlist-ranked upcoming games. | |||
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.70xhits against expected | 0.57x to 1.26x | 37 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,710 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
- 37
- Hit rate
- 2.7%0.0% to 5.5%
- Expected rate
- 7.2%
- Against expected
- 0.70x0.57x to 1.26x
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
37 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
- $38,861
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
- +55%
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.
- The Message from Deep Space (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,590 reviews, 96% positiveest. $322k
- Schrodinger's Cat Burglar (opens the Steam store)2026 · 622 reviews, 97% positiveest. $252k
- Lab Rat (opens the Steam store)2025 · 365 reviews, 97% positiveest. $148k
- JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 382 reviews, 76% positiveest. $139k
- THE MULLER-POWELL PRINCIPLE: Director's Cut (opens the Steam store)2023 · 342 reviews, 71% positiveest. $104k
- Nuclear Design Bureau (opens the Steam store)2026 · 316 reviews, 73% positiveest. $64k
- Newton's Fourth Law (opens the Steam store)2025 · 224 reviews, 93% positiveest. $54k
- Quantum Odyssey (opens the Steam store)2025 · 142 reviews, 92% positiveest. $52k
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 Science
pairs with Science- Simulation + Scienceno price49 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Scienceno price49 releases in 12 months
- 2D + Scienceno price42 releases in 12 months
- Physics + Scienceno price33 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Scienceno price26 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Scienceno price24 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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