Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Relaxing + Retro: a typical launch earns $303 in its first year
That is the median of 38 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 2 of 88 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 1.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 56% on the year before: 67 against 43.
- Price
- $303 median of 38 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −50.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 67 43 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 86 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 318 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.
| 0.05%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.03% to 0.09% | 7 ranked of 86 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #6,270 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.08xhits against expected | 0.79x to 1.90x | 88 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,354 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
- 88
- Hit rate
- 2.3%0.0% to 7.2%
- Expected rate
- 1.9%
- Against expected
- 1.08x0.79x to 1.90x
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
88 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
- $303
- Top tenth
- $7,384
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
- +56%
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.
- Legends of Dragaea: Idle Dungeons (opens the Steam store)2025 · 986 reviews, 86% positiveest. $199k
- Lyca (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,286 reviews, 81% positiveest. $130k
- You Know The Drill (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,043 reviews, 93% positiveest. $105k
- Purple Place - Classic Games (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,323 reviews, 86% positiveest. $94k
- Fishing The Abyss (opens the Steam store)2024 · 422 reviews, 95% positiveest. $60k
- Whimside (opens the Steam store)2025 · 395 reviews, 92% positiveest. $47k
- Nanomon Virtual Pet (opens the Steam store)2025 · 114 reviews, 88% positiveest. $35k
- Idle Chapel (opens the Steam store)2026 · 207 reviews, 78% positiveest. $29k
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 Retro
pairs with Retro- Story Rich + Retro$3,28551 launches priced, 77 releases in 12 months
- Psychological Horror + Retro$1,59566 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Retro$1,574105 launches priced, 151 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Retro$1,45461 launches priced, 124 releases in 12 months
- Retro + 1990's$1,41683 launches priced, 147 releases in 12 months
- Retro + Mystery$1,40436 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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