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

3,619

Indie

7,317

Adventure

3,624

Jaccard similarity

49.4%

Representative games

Game	Reviews	Shared context
Terraria 2011	1,238,172	Action, Action, RPG, Open World Survival Craft, Sandbox
Rust 2018	1,165,850	Action, Action, Massively Multiplayer, RPG, Survival
Euro Truck Simulator 2 2012	783,526	Simulation, Driving, Transportation, Simulation, Open World
The Forest 2018	681,741	Action, Action, Simulation, Open World Survival Craft, Survival
ARK: Survival Evolved 2017	586,217	Action, Action, Massively Multiplayer, RPG, Open World Survival Craft
Hollow Knight 2017	501,741	Action, Action, Metroidvania, Souls-like, Platformer
Valheim 2021	458,539	Action, Action, RPG, Early Access, Open World Survival Craft
Lethal Company 2023	411,377	Action, Action, Early Access, Online Co-Op, Horror
Palworld 2026	409,299	Action, Action, RPG, Open World, Survival
Hollow Knight: Silksong 2025	386,005	Action, Action
Subnautica 2018	379,589	Open World Survival Craft, Survival, Horror, Open World, Underwater
Don't Starve Together 2016	375,815	Action, Action, RPG, Simulation, Strategy

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.