Best niches
$10 to $20Pairs with the best chance of $100k+, above the base rateFree until launch
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.
Niches 3 Oct
Of 3,337 niches with 10+ launches at $10 to $20, 511 beat the 20 in 100 base rate. Price moves the odds most: 1 in 238 under $5, 44 in 100 at $20 to $40.511 of 3,337 niches beat the 20 in 100 base rate.511 beat the base rate.
Typical launch, all prices, first year $552
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 6 to 7.5 in 100 launches overall.
Pairs with the best chance of $100k+, above the base rateFree until launch
3,337 of 4,635 niches have 10+ launches at $10 to $20. Sorted by chance of $100k+, lowest first.
| Rank# | Niche | Chance of $100k+ | Typical year | Top 1 in 10 | Launches | Markers | Pin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All games at $10 to $20the base rate: the row to beat | 20 in 100878 of 4,304 | $10,978 | $287,297 | 4,304 | |||
| 1 | 2D + Hidden Objectnone of 71 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 71no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 71 | none | Pinned 2D + Hidden Object |
| 2 | 3D Platformer + Casualnone of 50 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 50no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 50 | 1-hit | Pin 3D Platformer + Casual |
| 3 | Fantasy + Hidden Objectnone of 45 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 45no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 45 | Small | Pin Fantasy + Hidden Object |
| 4 | Immersive Sim + VRnone of 37 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 37no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 37 | Small | Pin Immersive Sim + VR |
| 5 | Arcade + VRnone of 35 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 35no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 35 | Small | Pin Arcade + VR |
| 6 | 2D + Magicnone of 31 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 31no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 31 | 1-hitSmall | Pin 2D + Magic |
| 7 | Arcade + Family Friendlynone of 28 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 28no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 28 | Small | Pin Arcade + Family Friendly |
| 8 | 3D Platformer + Arcadenone of 26 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 26no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 26 | Small | Pin 3D Platformer + Arcade |
| 9 | Anime + Comedynone of 26 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 26no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 26 | Small | Pin Anime + Comedy |
| 10 | Casual + Linearnone of 25 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 25no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 25 | Small | Pin Casual + Linear |
| 11 | Magic + Story Richnone of 25 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 25no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 25 | 1-hitSmall | Pin Magic + Story Rich |
| 12 | 3D + Puzzle Platformernone of 24 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 24no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 24 | 1-hitSmall | Pin 3D + Puzzle Platformer |
| 13 | Card Battler + Casualnone of 24 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 24no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 24 | SmallAudience | Pin Card Battler + Casual |
| 14 | Military + Strategynone of 24 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 24no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 24 | Small | Pin Military + Strategy |
| 15 | Romance + Text-Basednone of 24 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 24no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 24 | Small | Pin Romance + Text-Based |
| 16 | 2.5D + Casualnone of 23 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 23no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 23 | 1-hitSmall | Pin 2.5D + Casual |
| 17 | 3D + Linearnone of 23 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 23no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 23 | Small | Pinned 3D + Linear |
| 18 | Casual + Investigationnone of 23 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 23no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 23 | 1-hitSmall | Pin Casual + Investigation |
| 19 | Casual + Real Time Tacticsnone of 23 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 23no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 23 | Small | Pin Casual + Real Time Tactics |
| 20 | Colorful + Romancenone of 23 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 23no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 23 | Small | Pin Colorful + Romance |
| 21 | Magic + Puzzlenone of 23 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 23no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 23 | 1-hitSmall | Pin Magic + Puzzle |
| 22 | PvE + Roguelikenone of 23 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 23no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 23 | SmallAudience | Pin PvE + Roguelike |
| 23 | 2D + Immersive Simnone of 22 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 22no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 22 | Small | Pin 2D + Immersive Sim |
| 24 | Survival + Survival Horrornone of 22 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 22no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 22 | Small | Pin Survival + Survival Horror |
| 25 | 3D + Minimalistnone of 20 launches earned $100k+ | 0 of 20no hits | under 100 | under 100 | 20 | Small | Pin 3D + Minimalist |
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.
Ticker: 30 upcoming games dated within 90 days, with wishlist rank, release date and followers. The same list is on the Upcoming page.