Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Strategy + Fantasy: a typical launch earns $708 in its first year
That is the median of 191 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 34 of 410 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 32.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 75% on the year before: 427 against 244.
- Price
- $708 median of 191 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −10.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 427 244 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,117 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,873 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.
| 1.35%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.35% to 3.02% | 63 ranked of 1,118 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,182 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.05xhits against expected | 0.82x to 1.35x | 410 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,475 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −29%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −39% to −17% | 76 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,148 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −9%review growth against same-age games | −15% to −2% | 76 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,226 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
- 410
- Hit rate
- 8.3%6.3% to 11.0%
- Expected rate
- 7.8%
- Against expected
- 1.05x0.82x to 1.35x
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
410 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
- $657
- Top tenth
- $44,573
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
- +75%
- Against Steam
- +29%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.
- The Bazaar (opens the Steam store)2025 · 15,044 reviews, 69% positiveest. $5M
- Monster Train 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 8,681 reviews, 95% positiveest. $3.9M
- Pioneers of Pagonia (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,811 reviews, 81% positiveest. $3.3M
- Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance TD (opens the Steam store)2024 · 10,410 reviews, 87% positiveest. $3M
- Tavern Keeper 🍻 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,578 reviews, 94% positiveest. $2.7M
- The King is Watching (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,137 reviews, 88% positiveest. $2.4M
- Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,062 reviews, 69% positiveest. $2.3M
- Super Fantasy Kingdom (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,648 reviews, 86% positiveest. $2.2M
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 Fantasy
pairs with Fantasy- Fantasy + Strategy RPG$6,98232 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- Fantasy + Tactical RPG$3,23736 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Fantasy + Multiple Endings$3,03445 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Fantasy + Female Protagonist$2,18571 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months
- Fantasy + Character Customization$2,14452 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
- Fantasy + Dungeon Crawler$1,86172 launches priced, 121 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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