Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Shooter / Exploration
Shooter + Exploration: a typical launch earns $1,001 in its first year
That is the median of 130 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 25 of 277 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 26.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases held level on the year before: 163 against 163.
- Price
- $1,001 median of 130 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +64.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 163 163 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 638 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,485 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. | 0.85%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.53% to 1.15% | 72 ranked of 638 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #275 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.97xhits against expected | 0.73x to 1.28x | 277 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,995 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +42%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +14% to +78% | 56 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #272 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 | −4% to +17% | 56 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,717 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
- 277
- Hit rate
- 9.0%6.5% to 13.7%
- Expected rate
- 9.4%
- Against expected
- 0.97x0.73x to 1.28x
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
277 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
- $728
- Top tenth
- $75,906
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
- 0%
- Against Steam
- −26%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- ShooterGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- ExplorationNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
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.
Escape From Duckov (opens the Steam store)2025 · 83,945 reviews, 85% positiveest. $21M
Witchfire (opens the Steam store)2024 · 17,213 reviews, 91% positiveest. $14M
Jump Space (opens the Steam store)2025 · 11,203 reviews, 85% positiveest. $4.5M
Echo Point Nova (opens the Steam store)2024 · 7,567 reviews, 96% positiveest. $3.8M
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl - Enhanced Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,669 reviews, 65% positiveest. $2.7M
Project Silverfish (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,154 reviews, 92% positiveest. $1.9M
Metro Awakening (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,041 reviews, 73% positiveest. $1.8M
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat - Enhanced Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,305 reviews, 66% positiveest. $1.3M
More with Shooter
pairs with Shooter- Shooter + Cyberpunk$2,57936 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Shooter$2,36739 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Shooter + Online Co-Op$2,19432 launches priced, 60 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + Shooter$1,82139 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Shooter + Old School$1,55845 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Shooter + Gore$1,46646 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
More with Exploration
pairs with Exploration- Exploration + Cozy$24,01549 launches priced, 99 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Open World Survival Craft$13,97334 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
- Driving + Exploration$10,40830 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Multiplayer$8,00174 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Online Co-Op$7,08069 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + Exploration$5,14762 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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