Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Surreal + Psychological: a typical launch earns $1,783 in its first year

That is the median of 30 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 3 of 61 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 2.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 28% on the year before: 41 against 32.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $1,783
Price vs a year earlier: −19.7%
Releases, 12 months: 41
Upcoming games: 124
Games on the store: 278

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.

Surreal + Psychological 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	0.12%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.04% to 0.21%	13 ranked of 124 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#5,456 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	1.01xhits against expected	0.71x to 1.70x	61 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,743 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+19%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−19% to +73%	15 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#795 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	−2% to +19%	15 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#363 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: 3
Expected: 2.9

Launches: 61
Hit rate: 4.9%1.5% to 18.8%
Expected rate: 4.8%
Against expected: 1.01x0.71x to 1.70x

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

61 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: $101
Median: $2,802
Top tenth: $60,102

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: 41
Prior 12 months: 32

Change: +28%
Against Steam: −8%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SurrealNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
PsychologicalNot 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 Surreal

pairs with Surreal

Surreal + Mystery$4,52440 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months
Surreal + Story Rich$3,23865 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
Surreal + Psychological Horror$2,906127 launches priced, 153 releases in 12 months
Surreal + Exploration$2,424100 launches priced, 135 releases in 12 months
Surreal + Walking Simulator$1,81971 launches priced, 118 releases in 12 months
Horror + Surreal$1,799122 launches priced, 163 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Surreal

More with Psychological

pairs with Psychological

Psychological + Walking Simulator$1,81661 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Psychological$1,57670 launches priced, 122 releases in 12 months
Psychological + Multiple Endings$1,45530 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
Thriller + Psychological$1,37437 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
Psychological Horror + Psychological$1,354130 launches priced, 188 releases in 12 months
Horror + Psychological$1,333121 launches priced, 186 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Psychological

Verdicts

in development

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