Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Side Scroller + Difficult: a typical launch earns $1,567 in its first year

That is the median of 44 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 83 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 8% on the year before: 53 against 49.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $1,567
Price vs a year earlier: +20.3%
Releases, 12 months: 53
Upcoming games: 117
Games on the store: 609

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.

Side Scroller + Difficult 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. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	0.10%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.05% to 0.21%	11 ranked of 117 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#5,604 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. One game dominates the figure	0.83xhits against expected	0.56x to 1.33x	83 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#3,913 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	+43%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−6% to +101%	18 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#257 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	+13%review growth against same-age games	−2% to +31%	18 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,584 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: 5
Expected: 6.7

Launches: 83
Hit rate: 6.0%1.2% to 20.6%
Expected rate: 8.0%
Against expected: 0.83x0.56x to 1.33x

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

83 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: $62
Median: $1,821
Top tenth: $62,141

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: 53
Prior 12 months: 49

Change: +8%
Against Steam: −21%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Side ScrollerNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
DifficultNot 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 Side Scroller

pairs with Side Scroller

Metroidvania + Side Scroller$2,22542 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
Side Scroller + Female Protagonist$2,18344 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
Hack and Slash + Side Scroller$1,41534 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
Side Scroller + Action RPG$1,06132 launches priced, 36 releases in 12 months
Side Scroller + Beat 'em up$81039 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
Side Scroller + 2D Fighter$80931 launches priced, 32 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Side Scroller

More with Difficult

pairs with Difficult

RPG + Difficult$8,09240 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Roguelike + Difficult$3,64173 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
Roguelite + Difficult$3,03570 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
Difficult + Action Roguelike$2,42672 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
Difficult + Souls-like$2,12341 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Difficult + Bullet Hell$2,12150 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Difficult

Verdicts

in development

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