The niche at a glance

Retro on Steam: 15,041 released games, 3,243 in the last 12 months, 6,228 announced and still unreleased. Of the 6,260 released between three years and 90 days ago, the median has 9 lifetime reviews. 50% of them never reached 10 reviews. Free to play: 9%. Retro is a Steam store tag, applied by the developer and refined by players; a game carries several tags at once, so niche counts overlap and do not add up to the size of the Steam catalogue. Data as of .

What releases end up with

lifetime reviews · released 3 years ago to 90 days ago · failures included6,260 releases
p100
p252
median9
p7538
p90186
50% of them never reached 10 reviewsMedian price $4.99 · 9% free-to-play

Releases per year

outcomes count only games released more than 90 days ago, anything newer has not had time to gather reviews
2019
716median 23 · 28% under 10 reviews
2020
969median 17 · 37% under 10 reviews
2021
1,210median 14 · 41% under 10 reviews
2022
1,398median 14 · 42% under 10 reviews
2023
1,531median 13 · 43% under 10 reviews
2024
1,894median 13 · 43% under 10 reviews
2025
2,352median 9 · 51% under 10 reviews
2026
2,723median 6 · 57% under 10 reviews · 986 too fresh

Retro × setting: what the pairings end up with

every setting tag shipped with Retro at least 5 times · same window× setting× mechanics
share reaching 500 reviews, shrunk towards the catalogue · click a row to open the concept
Retro ×3 y12 mmedian≥500adjusted vs chancelast hitwho made it
Wuxia138593under 2025.2%
ordinary ×1.06182 d
Legend of Mortal
Path of Kung Fu
Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun
Legend of Mortal · Path of Kung Fu · Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun
Villain Protagonist90141under 2018.4%
ordinary ×1.11723 d
The Happyhills Homicide
KeeperRL
Sniper Killer
The Happyhills Homicide · KeeperRL · Sniper Killer
World War II16516under 2017.6%
ordinary ×0.56215 d
The Red Pearls Of Borneo
Click and Conquer
Darkenstein 3D
The Red Pearls Of Borneo · Click and Conquer · Darkenstein 3D
Martial Arts74183320.3% 13%–31%17.4%
ordinary ×1.27182 d
Legend of Mortal
The World of Kungfu: Dragon and Eagle
Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun
Legend of Mortal · The World of Kungfu: Dragon and Eagle · Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun
Outbreak Sim9619under 2014.9%
ordinary ×0.64100 d
No, I'm not a Human
Execute
MOLDRISE
No, I'm not a Human · Execute · MOLDRISE
Artificial Intelligence88351014.8% 9%–24%13.3%
ordinary ×0.57169 d
KinitoPET
Nodebuster
STAR WARS™: Battlefront Classic Collection
KinitoPET · Nodebuster · STAR WARS™: Battlefront Classic Collection
Capitalism98532313.3% 8%–21%12.1%
ordinary ×0.91131 d
Scritchy Scratchy
Digseum
Unfair Flips
Scritchy Scratchy · Digseum · Unfair Flips
Gothic63232112.7% 7%–23%11.2%
ordinary ×1.30278 d
Slots & Daggers
Nightmare Kart
VOIN
Slots & Daggers · Nightmare Kart · VOIN
Noir81271312.3% 7%–21%11.2%
ordinary ×1.23195 d
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire
The Roottrees are Dead
Slots & Daggers
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire · The Roottrees are Dead · Slots & Daggers
Baseball1012under 2011.1%
ordinary ×1.22477 d
Backyard Baseball '97
Backyard Baseball '01
Backyard Baseball '97 · Backyard Baseball '01
Detective146491711.0% 7%–17%10.4%
ordinary ×0.8598 d
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire
Shift At Midnight
The Roottrees are Dead
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire · Shift At Midnight · The Roottrees are Dead
Farming Sim33102012.1% 5%–27%10.0%
ordinary ×0.39216 d
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping
Goblin Nest
VHS
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping · Goblin Nest · VHS
Dating Sim44113311.4% 5%–24%9.9%
avoided ×0.20547 d
Legend of Mortal
Path of Kung Fu
PockeDate! - Pocket Dating Simulator
Legend of Mortal · Path of Kung Fu · PockeDate! - Pocket Dating Simulator
Mechs44141311.4% 5%–24%9.9%
ordinary ×1.01546 d
StarVaders
Metal Slug Tactics
Guns of Fury
StarVaders · Metal Slug Tactics · Guns of Fury
Psychological Horror6032162610.0% 8%–13%9.8%
ordinary ×1.0193 d
Mouthwashing
No, I'm not a Human
CloverPit
Mouthwashing · No, I'm not a Human · CloverPit
76 pairings cleared 20 releases; 17 more never reached 5 and are not listed. Compared against 6.6% for games that carry any tags at all.

About these numbers

“Adjusted” is the share pulled towards the catalogue with the weight of twenty releases: the top of any ranked list is optimistic (out of a hundred pairings one will show 35 % on 23 releases by luck alone), and the adjustment is what stops a small lucky group from leading. The band next to the raw share is the 95 % interval. This list is the same for everyone today; the second opinion is the description-based one on Pitch comps.