Sensor Tower: 76 Game Breakouts in 2025-26, Indies Up to 33
Indie studios accounted for 43% of breakout hits in the year to August 2026, with friendslop titles among the biggest gainers.
Sensor Tower has published an industry analysis counting 76 breakout games released between September 2025 and August 2026, up from 55 in the previous year, according to GamesIndustry.biz. The report defines a breakout as a game that sells at least 500,000 units within its first 30 days.
Indie games drove most of the increase. Breakouts from indie studios rose from 13 to 33, giving them 43% of the total. Triple-A breakouts moved only slightly, from 27 to 28.
Among the 76 titles, 35 were non-sequels, about 53%, and 27 of those came from indie studios. Nine of the indie breakouts were friendslop hits such as Meccha Chameleon and RV There Yet?, while 18 were debuts in other genres, including Escape From Duckov and Megabonk.
The analysis excludes free-to-play titles such as Marvel Rivals and does not account for Call of Duty.
Competition for attention on Steam
The figures land against a crowded release landscape. In the previous year, more than half of the roughly 19,000 games released on Steam had fewer than 10 user reviews.
Quick answers
How many breakout games did Sensor Tower count for 2025-26?
The report counted 76 breakouts between September 2025 and August 2026, up from 55 the year before.
What counts as a breakout in the report?
A game that sells at least 500,000 units in its first 30 days.
Does the report include free-to-play games?
No. It excludes free-to-play titles such as Marvel Rivals and does not account for Call of Duty.