Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Visual Novel / Historical
Visual Novel + Historical: 53 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. 7 of 53 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 51% on the year before: 53 against 35.
- China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 53 35 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 105 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 288 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. | 0.02%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.02% to 0.03% | 7 ranked of 105 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #3,321 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.45xhits against expected | 1.00x to 2.18x | 53 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,886 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −5%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −35% to +28% | 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 | #1,583 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +2%review growth against same-age games | −9% to +13% | 15 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #717 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
- 53
- Hit rate
- 13.2%8.5% to 27.8%
- Expected rate
- 7.3%
- Against expected
- 1.45x1.00x to 2.18x
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
53 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
- $85
- Median
- $1,418
- Top tenth
- $274,415
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
- +51%
- Against Steam
- +7%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Visual NovelGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- HistoricalNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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.
- The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty (opens the Steam store)2024 · 49,862 reviews, 94% positiveest. $5.8M
- Road to Empress I (opens the Steam store)2025 · 11,903 reviews, 86% positiveest. $1.4M
- The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall (opens the Steam store)2026 · 8,291 reviews, 58% positiveest. $1.2M
- Conquer the world (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,000 reviews, 92% positiveest. $303k
- The Shell Part II: Purgatorio (opens the Steam store)2024 · 593 reviews, 95% positiveest. $300k
- 再见断刀 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,591 reviews, 92% positiveest. $297k
- Vampire Therapist (opens the Steam store)2024 · 921 reviews, 93% positiveest. $280k
- The Shell Part III: Paradiso (opens the Steam store)2025 · 627 reviews, 96% positiveest. $254k
More with Visual Novel
pairs with Visual Novel- Visual Novel + FMV$65,06531 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + LGBTQ+$6,05083 launches priced, 159 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Detective$5,29368 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Investigation$4,88542 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Immersive Sim$4,55364 launches priced, 115 releases in 12 months
- Visual Novel + Romance$3,639179 launches priced, 277 releases in 12 months
More with Historical
pairs with Historical- Story Rich + Historical$9,68533 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Historical$5,28050 launches priced, 124 releases in 12 months
- Historical + Wargame$4,50234 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- War + Historical$4,39930 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Historical$4,25980 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Historical$4,25039 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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