Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Retro + Score Attack: a typical launch earns $201 in its first year

That is the median of 55 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 1 of 93 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 8% on the year before: 64 against 59.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $201
Price vs a year earlier: −85.8%
Releases, 12 months: 64
Upcoming games: 97
Games on the store: 404

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.

Retro + Score Attack 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.	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. One game dominates the figure	0.66xhits against expected	0.53x to 1.22x	93 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#4,948 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 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: 1
Expected: 3.0

Launches: 93
Hit rate: 1.1%0.0% to 2.3%
Expected rate: 3.3%
Against expected: 0.66x0.53x to 1.22x

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

93 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: $0
Median: $202
Top tenth: $4,973

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: 64
Prior 12 months: 59

Change: +8%

Parent tags

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

Every pair with Retro

More with Score Attack

pairs with Score Attack

Shoot 'Em Up + Score Attack$67730 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
Shooter + Score Attack$40543 launches priced, 67 releases in 12 months
Physics + Score Attack$40535 launches priced, 67 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Score Attack$38332 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
Bullet Hell + Score Attack$34438 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
Relaxing + Score Attack$32331 launches priced, 41 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Score Attack

Verdicts

in development

GMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.