Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Story Rich / Side Scroller
Story Rich + Side Scroller: 31 releases in the last 12 months
There is no price yet: it needs 30 or more indie paid launches in the last four complete quarters. 1 of 42 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 7% on the year before: 31 against 29.
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 31 29 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 200 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 408 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. | 0.23%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.16% to 0.32% | 32 ranked of 200 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #953 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.67xhits against expected | 0.54x to 1.20x | 42 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,904 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 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
- 42
- Hit rate
- 2.4%0.0% to 9.8%
- Expected rate
- 7.1%
- Against expected
- 0.67x0.54x to 1.20x
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
42 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
- $61
- Median
- $2,224
- Top tenth
- $33,335
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
- +7%
Parent tags
- Story RichNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Side ScrollerNot 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.
- TEVI (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,587 reviews, 88% positiveest. $1.7M
- American Arcadia (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,147 reviews, 94% positiveest. $1.2M
- Sister Ray (opens the Steam store)2026 · 432 reviews, 95% positiveest. $105k
- Volkolak: The Will of Gods (opens the Steam store)2025 · 316 reviews, 87% positiveest. $102k
- Alice's World (opens the Steam store)2025 · 328 reviews, 89% positiveest. $93k
- MAKOTO WAKAIDO’s Case Files TRILOGY DELUXE (opens the Steam store)2023 · 259 reviews, 77% positiveest. $68k
- AMEDAMA (opens the Steam store)2024 · 91 reviews, 84% positiveest. $46k
- Psychroma (opens the Steam store)2024 · 195 reviews, 88% positiveest. $39k
More with Story Rich
pairs with Story Rich- Story Rich + Narrative$13,10440 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Historical$9,68533 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Investigation$8,90370 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based Strategy + Story Rich$8,09741 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Supernatural$5,82533 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Dating Sim$5,71476 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
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
- Side Scroller + Difficult$1,56744 launches priced, 53 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
Verdicts
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