Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Strategy + Adventure: a typical launch earns $421 in its first year
That is the median of 406 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 24 of 743 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 44.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 9% on the year before: 481 against 531.
- China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
- Price
- $421 median of 406 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +28.1% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 481 531 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,455 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 5,393 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. | 0.71%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.41% to 1.13% | 77 ranked of 1,455 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #339 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.57xhits against expected | 0.42x to 0.76x | 743 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #6,304 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +25%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +9% to +44% | 94 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #620 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −16%review growth against same-age games | −25% to −9% | 94 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,498 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
- 743
- Hit rate
- 3.2%1.9% to 4.1%
- Expected rate
- 6.0%
- Against expected
- 0.57x0.42x to 0.76x
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
743 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
- $363
- Top tenth
- $13,967
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
- −9%
- Against Steam
- −33%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
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.
- Sultan's Game (opens the Steam store)2025 · 25,110 reviews, 93% positiveest. $7.8M
- For The King II (opens the Steam store)2023 · 12,765 reviews, 71% positiveest. $5.6M
- UFO 50 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 7,144 reviews, 94% positiveest. $3.6M
- The Last Flame (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,748 reviews, 85% positiveest. $978k
- Arco (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,195 reviews, 96% positiveest. $889k
- Yaoling: Mythical Journey (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,854 reviews, 90% positiveest. $779k
- The Artisan of Glimmith (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,584 reviews, 97% positiveest. $615k
- The Nameless: Slay Dragon (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,061 reviews, 91% positiveest. $496k
More with Strategy
pairs with Strategy- Strategy + Roguelike Deckbuilder$8,599104 launches priced, 217 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Base Building$6,139160 launches priced, 260 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Turn-Based$5,85566 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Historical$4,25980 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Party-Based RPG$3,88255 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Story Rich$3,64284 launches priced, 149 releases in 12 months
More with Adventure
pairs with Adventure- Adventure + Cozy$32,10838 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Narrative$12,85033 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + LGBTQ+$7,36637 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Online Co-Op$6,34186 launches priced, 187 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Base Building$5,35342 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Building$4,85745 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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