Genres

Ticker: price and year-over-year change for 40 genres. Price is the median estimated first-year revenue of indie paid launches. The change shows for genres with 100+ launches. The same figures are on the Genres page.

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192,217
on 3 Oct 2026

Niches 3 Oct

Of 1,968 niches with 30+ launches at any price, Last 18 months, 881 beat the 1 in 17 base rate. Price moves the odds most: 1 in 219 under $5, 40 in 100 at $20 to $40.881 of 1,968 niches beat the 1 in 17 base rate.881 beat the base rate.

Typical launch, all prices, first year $540

Niches

Every tag pair (two tags on the same game), screened by how often its indie launches earned $100k or more in their first year. Pick your price first: price moves the odds more than the tags do.

Indie paid Steam launches 12 to 36 months old, data 3 Oct 2026. A hit is an estimated first year of $100k+. Earnings are sales on Steam after discounts and regional prices, before Steam's 30% cut, refunds and sales tax. About 58% of it reaches the developer. The revenue estimate is soft: about 5 to 8 in 100 launches overall.

Best niches

All prices

Pairs with the best chance of $100k+, above the base rateFree until launch

Base Building + Multiplayerabout 2.3 times expected at its prices, could be luck44 in 100
1Base Building + Multiplayer44 in 10045 launches2Crafting + Multiplayer44 in 10048 launches3Online Co-Op + Roguelike43 in 10040 launches4Base Building + Open World Survival Craft39 in 10054 launches5Character Customization + Open World39 in 10062 launches

Lens checkOne-hit market. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: moves the answer. Last 18 months: holds.

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Best nichesFree until launchClick to unlockTag pairs that beat the odds

The niche list

The Last 18 months lens is computed across all prices only for now, so this list reads All prices. Pick Standard to read $10 to $20.

Best odds at my priceChance of $100k+, read within one price band.Opens $10 to $20, Standard lens.Steady marketsHolds in every lens and no single game owns it.Now: Cozy + Exploration, 37 in 100. 421 match.Biggest typical yearWhat the middle launch earned, highest first.Now: Base Building + City Builder, $61,759 typical. 1,968 match.Biggest upsideWhat the top tenth earned at least.Not computed for lenses yet.Proven at scale100+ launches and above the base rate.Now: Building + Simulation, 23 in 100. 156 match.Busiest marketsMost launches first: where the competition is.Now: 2D + Casual, 1,131 launches. 1,968 match.
Hide one-hit markets457 outHide small samples852 out

1,968 of 4,634 niches have 30+ launches at any price, Last 18 months. Sorted by chance of $100k+, lowest first.

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Niches at any price, Last 18 months, sorted by chance of $100k+. The first row is the base rate.
Rank#NicheChance of $100k+Typical yearTop 1 in 10LaunchesMarkersPin
All games at any price, Last 18 monthsthe base rate: the row to beat 1 in 171,546 of 26,280 $540not computed 26,280
1 none of 188 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 188no hits $114 not computed 188 none Pin Casual + Top-Down
2 none of 128 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 128no hits $524 not computed 128 none Pin Cute + Hidden Object
3 none of 126 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 126no hits $57 not computed 126 1-hit Pin Casual + Shooter
4 none of 123 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 123no hits $153 not computed 123 none Pin Incremental + Point & Click
5 none of 117 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 117no hits $153 not computed 117 Audience Pin Shooter + Top-Down Shooter
6 none of 108 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 108no hits $76 not computed 108 none Pin Casual + Side Scroller
7 none of 100 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 100no hits $153 not computed 100 1-hit Pin 2D + PvE
8 none of 99 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 99no hits $228 not computed 99 none Pin Casual + Linear
9 2D + Precision Platformernone of 95 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 95no hits $115 not computed 95 none Pin 2D + Precision Platformer

none of 95 launches earned $100k+ at any price, Last 18 months.

Base rate at any price, Last 18 months: 1 in 17 (1,546 of 26,280 launches earned $100k+).

Typical first year $115. Top 1 in 10 is not computed for lenses yet.

Lens check, all pricesHolds in 2 of 3, 1 too few to tell. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: too few to tell.

No warning markers: no single game holds half the money, the sample is 50+ launches and the West-facing view does not move the answer.

Chance of $100k+ at every price (Standard lens)
PriceChanceLaunchesTypical
All prices4 of 364 launches364$170
Under $51 of 277 launches277$101
$5 to $101 of 61 launches61$804
$10 to $202 of 24 launches24$8,103
$20 to $40too fewunder 10

Grey: under 30 launches or 5 hits at that price, written as a count. Odds compare best within one price.

Its two tags alone, at any price, Last 18 months

  • 2Dstyle tag1 in 34 earned $100k+, from 8,238 launches
  • Precision Platformer1 in 74 earned $100k+, from 882 launches
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10 none of 94 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 94no hits $344 not computed 94 none Pin Adventure + Linear
11 none of 92 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 92no hits $172 not computed 92 none Pin Puzzle + Top-Down
12 none of 86 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 86no hits $172 not computed 86 none Pin 2D + Top-Down Shooter
13 none of 85 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 85no hits $153 not computed 85 none Pin Casual + Tower Defense
14 none of 84 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 84no hits $287 not computed 84 none Pin Adventure + Precision Platformer
15 none of 79 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 79no hits $76 not computed 79 none Pin Incremental + Puzzle
16 none of 79 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 79no hits $268 not computed 79 none Pin Linear + Puzzle
17 none of 78 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 78no hits $134 not computed 78 none Pin Arcade + Top-Down Shooter
18 none of 77 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 77no hits $306 not computed 77 1-hitAudience Pin Arena Shooter + Shooter
19 none of 77 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 77no hits $76 not computed 77 none Pin Casual + Runner
20 none of 77 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 77no hits $228 not computed 77 none Pin Minimalist + Strategy
21 none of 77 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 77no hits $134 not computed 77 1-hit Pin Top-Down + Top-Down Shooter
22 none of 76 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 76no hits $134 not computed 76 1-hit Pin Casual + Sci-fi
23 none of 74 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 74no hits $841 not computed 74 none Pin Casual + Romance
24 none of 72 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 72no hits $191 not computed 72 1-hit Pin 2.5D + Casual
25 none of 71 launches earned $100k+ 0 of 71no hits $287 not computed 71 none Pin Strategy + Stylized
Show 25 moreShowing 25 of 1,968 niches
green beats the base ratecoral below it bar: the chance; amber tick: the base rate1-hit one game holds over half the moneySmall under 50 launches in this viewAudience reads differently for Western players

Under 30 launches or 5 hits a chance is written as a count ("3 of 12"), never as odds. Typical year is the middle launch's first-year earnings. Lenses, the one-hit share and the audience split are measured across all prices. A game counts in every pair its tags make.

Releases

Ticker: 30 upcoming games dated within 90 days, with wishlist rank, release date and followers. The same list is on the Upcoming page.