How does the genre overlap explorer work?

It builds a catalog profile for each of the 402 genres and tags indielist tracks, then compares the two selected terms by shared games, shared tags, and a Jaccard-style overlap score.

What does genre overlap mean for an indie game?

Genre overlap shows how often two genres or Steam tags appear on the same tracked games. A high overlap usually means players, store positioning, and publisher portfolios may cross over; a low overlap means the combination is rarer and needs clearer positioning.

Where does the genre overlap data come from?

The tool reads indielist game data: Steam Store genres, SteamSpy tags when available, and each game primary genre. It does not call Steam or any external API when you use it.

Is the genre overlap tool free?

Yes. It needs no account and uses the same catalog data behind every game page on indielist.

Indie game genre overlap explorer

Compare two genres or Steam tags by how often they appear together in the indielist catalog. Use it to test positioning, find hybrid niches, and spot representative games before you write a store page or publisher pitch.

First genre/tag Second genre/tag

Overlap games

4,067

Indie

8,418

Adventure

4,074

Jaccard similarity

48.3%

Representative games

Game	Reviews	Shared context
Terraria 2011	1,247,686	Action, Action, RPG, Open World Survival Craft, Sandbox
Rust 2018	1,176,471	Action, Action, Massively Multiplayer, RPG, Survival
Euro Truck Simulator 2 2012	791,517	Simulation, Driving, Transportation, Simulation, Open World
ARK: Survival Evolved 2017	588,535	Action, Action, Massively Multiplayer, RPG, Open World Survival Craft
The Forest 2018	583,870	Action, Action, Simulation, Open World Survival Craft, Survival
Hollow Knight 2017	507,072	Action, Action, Metroidvania, Souls-like, Platformer
Valheim 2026	475,018	Action, Action, RPG, Open World Survival Craft, Survival
Palworld 2026	416,579	Action, Action, RPG, Open World, Survival
Lethal Company 2023	411,982	Action, Action, Early Access, Online Co-Op, Horror
Hollow Knight: Silksong 2025	390,185	Action, Action
Don't Starve Together 2016	377,538	Action, Action, RPG, Simulation, Strategy
Project Zomboid 2013	370,897	RPG, Simulation, Early Access, Survival, Zombies

How the overlap score is built

For each term we collect the games that carry that genre or tag. The overlap score is the share of games in both selected groups out of all games in either group, a Jaccard index. Shared tags are then counted across the overlapping games, so the result is traceable back to visible catalog entries rather than a black-box similarity model.

Estimate a game's sales with the sales calculator, find a fit on the publisher finder, or browse genre indexes.

Frequently asked questions

How does the genre overlap explorer work?: It builds a catalog profile for each of the 402 genres and tags indielist tracks, then compares the two selected terms by shared games, shared tags, and a Jaccard-style overlap score.
What does genre overlap mean for an indie game?: Genre overlap shows how often two genres or Steam tags appear on the same tracked games. A high overlap usually means players, store positioning, and publisher portfolios may cross over; a low overlap means the combination is rarer and needs clearer positioning.
Where does the genre overlap data come from?: The tool reads indielist game data: Steam Store genres, SteamSpy tags when available, and each game primary genre. It does not call Steam or any external API when you use it.
Is the genre overlap tool free?: Yes. It needs no account and uses the same catalog data behind every game page on indielist.