Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Retro + 3D: a typical launch earns $607 in its first year
That is the median of 95 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 175 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 3% on the year before: 117 against 114.
- Price
- $607 median of 95 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +3.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 117 114 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 325 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 849 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. | 0.19%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.12% to 0.25% | 31 ranked of 325 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,113 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.94xhits against expected | 0.64x to 1.50x | 175 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,175 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +25%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −2% to +58% | 35 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #617 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −5%review growth against same-age games | −13% to +3% | 35 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,321 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
- 175
- Hit rate
- 3.4%1.5% to 7.4%
- Expected rate
- 3.8%
- Against expected
- 0.94x0.64x to 1.50x
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
175 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
- $28
- Median
- $1,050
- Top tenth
- $18,517
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
- +3%
- Against Steam
- −24%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.
- Shift At Midnight (opens the Steam store)2026 · 10,587 reviews, 88% positiveest. $1.9M
- Car Manufacture (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,397 reviews, 66% positiveest. $566k
- Old School Rally (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,144 reviews, 89% positiveest. $564k
- Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,627 reviews, 97% positiveest. $560k
- Parking Garage Rally Circuit (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,625 reviews, 96% positiveest. $329k
- The Message from Deep Space (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,590 reviews, 96% positiveest. $322k
- Corn Kidz 64 (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,699 reviews, 93% positiveest. $240k
- Tyrant's Realm (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,041 reviews, 83% positiveest. $211k
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
More with 3D
pairs with 3D- 3D + Dark Humor$3,90132 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Cozy$3,23738 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Economy$3,15761 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Management$2,196130 launches priced, 192 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + 3D$2,162144 launches priced, 256 releases in 12 months
- 3D + Resource Management$2,02434 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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