Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Realistic + Dark: a typical launch earns $1,050 in its first year

That is the median of 104 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 8 of 204 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 15% on the year before: 102 against 120.

Price: $1,050
Price vs a year earlier: −14.8%
Releases, 12 months: 102
Upcoming games: 245
Games on the store: 651

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

Realistic + Dark on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	0.23%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.09% to 0.45%	22 ranked of 245 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#4,948 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.11xhits against expected	0.76x to 1.70x	204 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,169 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure	+63%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+27% to +111%	30 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#96 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	+3%review growth against same-age games	−8% to +17%	30 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,826 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 old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 8
Expected: 6.9

Launches: 204
Hit rate: 3.9%1.9% to 8.3%
Expected rate: 3.4%
Against expected: 1.11x0.76x to 1.70x

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

204 launches

Estimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.

Bottom tenth: $67
Median: $1,088
Top tenth: $23,221

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 102
Prior 12 months: 120

Change: −15%
Against Steam: −37%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

RealisticNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
DarkNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The 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.

More with Realistic

pairs with Realistic

Multiplayer + Realistic$17,04044 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Realistic + Management$13,70546 launches priced, 74 releases in 12 months
Realistic + Economy$10,95531 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
Realistic + Life Sim$6,57659 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Realistic$5,46362 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
Thriller + Realistic$3,21454 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Realistic

More with Dark

pairs with Dark

RPG + Dark$3,32642 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
Dark + Female Protagonist$3,04831 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
Dark + Supernatural$2,48942 launches priced, 63 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Dark$2,427120 launches priced, 161 releases in 12 months
Dark + Choices Matter$2,30338 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Visual Novel + Dark$1,85867 launches priced, 112 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Dark

Verdicts

in development

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