Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Thriller + Mystery: a typical launch earns $1,820 in its first year

That is the median of 107 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 14 of 192 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 9.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 6% on the year before: 122 against 115.

Price: $1,820
Price vs a year earlier: +20.1%
Releases, 12 months: 122
Upcoming games: 291
Games on the store: 726

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.

Thriller + Mystery 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	0.26%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.05% to 0.49%	18 ranked of 291 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#4,858 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.37xhits against expected	0.98x to 1.94x	192 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,087 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+34%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+7% to +61%	34 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#419 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+5%review growth against same-age games	−5% to +13%	34 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#605 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: 14
Expected: 9.4

Launches: 192
Hit rate: 7.3%2.6% to 11.1%
Expected rate: 4.9%
Against expected: 1.37x0.98x to 1.94x

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

192 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: $112
Median: $1,183
Top tenth: $32,202

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: 122
Prior 12 months: 115

Change: +6%
Against Steam: −22%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

ThrillerNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
MysteryNot 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 Thriller

pairs with Thriller

Thriller + Supernatural$5,86733 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
Thriller + Walking Simulator$4,18364 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
Thriller + Realistic$3,21454 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Thriller$2,90675 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
Psychological Horror + Thriller$2,003167 launches priced, 223 releases in 12 months
Thriller + Multiple Endings$1,82033 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Thriller

More with Mystery

pairs with Mystery

Mystery + Choices Matter$6,00949 launches priced, 114 releases in 12 months
Anime + Mystery$5,55743 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
Mystery + Female Protagonist$5,30753 launches priced, 76 releases in 12 months
Detective + Mystery$5,207106 launches priced, 184 releases in 12 months
Cinematic + Mystery$4,60234 launches priced, 41 releases in 12 months
Surreal + Mystery$4,52440 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Mystery

Verdicts

in development

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