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.

Settings
Text size
Game Market DataBuild what sells
Live games
192,217
on 3 Oct 2026

Niches 3 Oct

Of 1,115 niches with 30+ launches at $10 to $20, 500 beat the 18 in 100 base rate. Price moves the odds most: 1 in 219 under $5, 40 in 100 at $20 to $40.500 of 1,115 niches beat the 18 in 100 base rate.500 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.

The niche list

Best odds at my priceChance of $100k+, read within one price band.Now: Building + Life Sim, 57 in 100. 1,115 match.Steady marketsHolds in every lens and no single game owns it.Now: Cinematic + Story Rich, 52 in 100. 362 match.Biggest typical yearWhat the middle launch earned, highest first.Now: Cinematic + Story Rich, $133,868 typical. 1,115 match.Biggest upsideWhat the top tenth earned at least.Now: Casual + Cozy, $2.1M top 1 in 10. 563 match.Proven at scale100+ launches and above the base rate.Now: Economy + Simulation, 36 in 100. 57 match.Busiest marketsMost launches first: where the competition is.Now: Adventure + Exploration, 390 launches. 1,115 match.
Hide one-hit markets103 outHide small samples+552 if off

1,115 of 4,634 niches have 30+ launches at $10 to $20. 563 match the search and chips. Sorted by chance of $100k+, highest first.

Multiplayer + Simulation 41 in 100 earned $100k+, from 58 launches at $10 to $20typical $49,207 none
Pin another to compare.
Pin another to compare.
Niches at $10 to $20, sorted by chance of $100k+. The first row is the base rate.
Rank#NicheChance of $100k+Typical yearTop 1 in 10LaunchesMarkersPin
All games at $10 to $20the base rate: the row to beat 18 in 100758 of 4,301 $8,234$217,858 4,301
1 51 in 100 earned $100k+, from 55 launches 51 in 10028 hits $111,100 $1,272,702 55 Audience Pin Cozy + Relaxing
2 50 in 100 earned $100k+, from 50 launches 50 in 10025 hits $130,631 $2,100,811 50 Audience Pin Casual + Cozy
3 45 in 100 earned $100k+, from 53 launches 45 in 10024 hits $73,018 $694,394 53 1-hit Pin Base Building + City Builder
4 44 in 100 earned $100k+, from 52 launches 44 in 10023 hits $67,836 $456,339 52 1-hit Pin Economy + Immersive Sim
5 42 in 100 earned $100k+, from 52 launches 42 in 10022 hits $58,190 $1,383,355 52 1-hitAudience Pin First-Person + Management
6 42 in 100 earned $100k+, from 79 launches 42 in 10033 hits $67,200 $784,585 79 none Pin Multiplayer + Online Co-Op
7 Multiplayer + Simulation41 in 100 earned $100k+, from 58 launches 41 in 10024 hits $49,207 $1,783,729 58 none Pinned Multiplayer + Simulation

41 in 100 earned $100k+, from 58 launches at $10 to $20. That is about 2.3 times the base rate.

Base rate at $10 to $20: 18 in 100 (758 of 4,301 launches earned $100k+).

Typical first year $49,207; the top 1 in 10 earned at least $1,783,729.

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

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 prices26 in 100197$9,051
Under $51 of 61 launches61$337
$5 to $1017 in 10054$4,219
$10 to $2041 in 10058$49,207
$20 to $4018 of 24 launches24$1,140,085

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 $10 to $20

  • Multiplayerstyle tag29 in 100 earned $100k+, from 268 launches
  • Simulation21 in 100 earned $100k+, from 876 launches
Open niche pageCheck this idea
8 41 in 100 earned $100k+, from 81 launches 41 in 10033 hits $38,186 $641,210 81 none Pin Open World + Sandbox
9 39 in 100 earned $100k+, from 64 launches 39 in 10025 hits $41,029 $809,154 64 none Pin Open World + Simulation
10 39 in 100 earned $100k+, from 80 launches 39 in 10031 hits $49,793 $682,937 80 none Pin Immersive Sim + Life Sim
11 37 in 100 earned $100k+, from 86 launches 37 in 10032 hits $37,224 $466,495 86 Audience Pin Building + Management
12 37 in 100 earned $100k+, from 84 launches 37 in 10031 hits $46,752 $456,339 84 1-hit Pin Life Sim + Management
13 37 in 100 earned $100k+, from 71 launches 37 in 10026 hits $33,396 $641,210 71 1-hitAudience Pin Base Building + Sandbox
14 36 in 100 earned $100k+, from 99 launches 36 in 10036 hits $26,760 $668,606 99 none Pin Building + Sandbox
15 36 in 100 earned $100k+, from 50 launches 36 in 10018 hits $38,186 $893,571 50 1-hitAudience Pin First-Person + Life Sim
16 36 in 100 earned $100k+, from 117 launches 36 in 10042 hits $36,935 $588,173 117 none Pin Economy + Simulation
17 36 in 100 earned $100k+, from 81 launches 36 in 10029 hits $42,360 $778,975 81 none Pin Co-op + Multiplayer
18 36 in 100 earned $100k+, from 81 launches 36 in 10029 hits $50,860 $466,495 81 none Pin Immersive Sim + Management
19 35 in 100 earned $100k+, from 74 launches 35 in 10026 hits $52,130 $694,394 74 1-hit Pin Management + Sandbox
20 35 in 100 earned $100k+, from 55 launches 35 in 10019 hits $35,422 $641,210 55 1-hit Pin Base Building + Simulation
21 34 in 100 earned $100k+, from 87 launches 34 in 10030 hits $32,397 $310,018 87 1-hit Pin Sandbox + Strategy
22 34 in 100 earned $100k+, from 122 launches 34 in 10042 hits $26,594 $410,130 122 Audience Pin Building + Simulation
23 34 in 100 earned $100k+, from 62 launches 34 in 10021 hits $31,186 $352,182 62 none Pin Building + Crafting
24 34 in 100 earned $100k+, from 204 launches 34 in 10069 hits $37,224 $456,445 204 none Pin Management + Simulation
25 34 in 100 earned $100k+, from 77 launches 34 in 10026 hits $34,532 $778,975 77 none Pin Co-op + Online Co-Op
Show 25 moreShowing 25 of 563 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.