Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Story Rich / Souls-like
Story Rich + Souls-like: 23 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. 6 of 41 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 44% on the year before: 23 against 16.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 23 16 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 99 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 203 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.
| 0.86%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.05% to 2.34% | 17 ranked of 99 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,355 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.09xhits against expected | 0.75x to 1.64x | 41 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,291 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.
| 0%review growth against same-age games | −12% to +16% | 18 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #813 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
- 41
- Hit rate
- 14.6%6.4% to 30.1%
- Expected rate
- 12.9%
- Against expected
- 1.09x0.75x to 1.64x
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
41 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
- $3,643
- Top tenth
- $132,391
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
- +44%
Parent tags
- Story RichNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Souls-likeGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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.
- Nine Sols (opens the Steam store)2024 · 40,347 reviews, 94% positiveest. $23M
- Lords of the Fallen (opens the Steam store)2023 · 38,043 reviews, 68% positiveest. $22M
- Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,874 reviews, 79% positiveest. $948k
- The Shimmering Horizon and Cursed Blacksmith (opens the Steam store)2025 · 986 reviews, 58% positiveest. $399k
- Solateria (opens the Steam store)2026 · 725 reviews, 83% positiveest. $293k
- Deathbound (opens the Steam store)2024 · 218 reviews, 69% positiveest. $132k
- Volkolak: The Will of Gods (opens the Steam store)2025 · 316 reviews, 87% positiveest. $102k
- Mark of the Deep (opens the Steam store)2025 · 230 reviews, 73% positiveest. $93k
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 Souls-like
pairs with Souls-like- Exploration + Souls-like$4,45048 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Souls-like$3,09670 launches priced, 113 releases in 12 months
- Difficult + Souls-like$2,12341 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
- Action RPG + Souls-like$1,78076 launches priced, 118 releases in 12 months
- Souls-like + Action Roguelike$1,41633 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + Souls-like$1,18654 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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