Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Relaxing + Emotional: a typical launch earns $2,347 in its first year
That is the median of 36 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 72 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 19% on the year before: 51 against 43.
- Price
- $2,347 median of 36 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +45.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 51 43 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 129 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 378 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. | 0.11%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.06% to 0.16% | 14 ranked of 129 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,599 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.65xhits against expected | 1.15x to 2.43x | 72 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #454 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +17%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −10% to +55% | 31 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #863 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | 0%review growth against same-age games | −7% to +7% | 31 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #799 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
- 72
- Hit rate
- 12.5%4.7% to 26.8%
- Expected rate
- 5.9%
- Against expected
- 1.65x1.15x to 2.43x
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
72 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
- $100
- Median
- $1,961
- Top tenth
- $115,858
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
- +19%
- Against Steam
- −14%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.
- Woodo (opens the Steam store)2026 · 933 reviews, 98% positiveest. $321k
- Farewell North (opens the Steam store)2024 · 572 reviews, 94% positiveest. $278k
- Kind Words 2 (lofi city pop) (opens the Steam store)2024 · 634 reviews, 92% positiveest. $257k
- Millennium Dream (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,620 reviews, 92% positiveest. $242k
- The Last Cat in the Universe (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,180 reviews, 94% positiveest. $167k
- Your Mother (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,470 reviews, 92% positiveest. $165k
- AMANATSU ~Perfect Edition~ (opens the Steam store)2024 · 406 reviews, 94% positiveest. $164k
- The Beekeeper's Picnic - A Sherlockian Adventure (opens the Steam store)2025 · 471 reviews, 97% positiveest. $133k
More with Relaxing
pairs with Relaxing- Relaxing + Economy$7,82849 launches priced, 115 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Open World$3,43945 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Building + Relaxing$3,39787 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Management$3,154101 launches priced, 233 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Farming Sim$2,87450 launches priced, 106 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Crafting$2,42950 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
More with Emotional
pairs with Emotional- Emotional + Hand-drawn$3,75736 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Emotional$3,130121 launches priced, 200 releases in 12 months
- Emotional + Multiple Endings$3,03442 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Anime + Emotional$2,67157 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Emotional$2,67167 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Emotional$2,488136 launches priced, 194 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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