Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Sci-fi + PvE: a typical launch earns $435 in its first year

That is the median of 42 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 80 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 41% on the year before: 69 against 49.

Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games

Price: $435
Price vs a year earlier: +79.5%
Releases, 12 months: 69
Upcoming games: 230
Games on the store: 481

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.

Sci-fi + PvE 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.	0.74%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.37% to 1.10%	28 ranked of 231 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#325 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games	0.99xhits against expected	0.68x to 1.55x	80 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,829 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	+1%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−25% to +33%	17 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,425 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	+2%review growth against same-age games	−7% to +13%	17 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,900 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: 6
Expected: 6.1

Launches: 80
Hit rate: 7.5%3.6% to 13.2%
Expected rate: 7.6%
Against expected: 0.99x0.68x to 1.55x

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

80 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: $455
Top tenth: $38,015

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: 69
Prior 12 months: 49

Change: +41%
Against Steam: +1%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Sci-fiNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
PvENot 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 Sci-fi

pairs with Sci-fi

Sci-fi + Anime$4,24936 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Sci-fi + Cyberpunk$3,08346 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
Sci-fi + Cute$1,80330 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Sci-fi$1,61786 launches priced, 117 releases in 12 months
RPG + Sci-fi$1,61665 launches priced, 76 releases in 12 months
Exploration + Sci-fi$1,457125 launches priced, 163 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Sci-fi

More with PvE

pairs with PvE

Co-op + PvE$16,63155 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
Online Co-Op + PvE$5,26063 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
Multiplayer + PvE$2,00370 launches priced, 120 releases in 12 months
PvE + Deckbuilding$1,11233 launches priced, 40 releases in 12 months
Dungeon Crawler + PvE$1,06262 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
Hack and Slash + PvE$1,06166 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months

Every pair with PvE

Verdicts

in development

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