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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.

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201,879
on 11 Nov 2026

At $10 to $20: 31 in 100 earned $100k+, against 21 in 100 for all genres at that price.

Genres / Open World Survival Craft

Open World Survival Craft

110 launches studied, 1,305 store games
Figures of 11 Nov 2026

33 in 100 Open World Survival Craft launches earned $100k+ in their first year, over twice the 1 in 15 for all genres. Price matters most: at $10 to $20 it is 31 in 100, against 21 in 100 for all genres. It is a one-hit market: Palworld holds 68% of its money.

Chance of $100k+33 in 100Above all genres36 of 110 launches earned $100k+ in year one. All genres 1 in 15, 26,758 launches.
At $10 to $2031 in 100Above its price18 of 58 launches at $10 to $20, $10k+ 83 in 100. All genres at that price 21 in 100.
Typical first year$26,878Above all genresHalf of 110 launches earned more. All genres $562, the cohort median. Sales on Steam before Steam's cut; about 58% of it reaches the developer.
Biggest game's share67.8%One game over halfPalworld, of the money from 110 launches. Without it 32 in 100 hit $100k+.
New store launches+35.1%Launches up77 in the last 12 months, 57 the 12 before. All store games with the tag.
Read with careOne-hit market: read odds and typical earnings, not totals 11Beats the odds expected at its prices about 1.7 times (actual 33 in 100, expected 19 in 100): could be luck 7Too few to read: under $5 (15 launches), $5 to $10 (18 launches), $20 to $40 (19 launches) 3

The eight cards

Fixed order: odds, earnings, the one-hit check and life cycle, then demand, upcoming and the two gold cards. Click a price on Launch odds to read the page at that price. Figures of 11 Nov 2026.

Launch odds

by price

Odds of a $100k+ first year, by price

$10 to $2018 of 58 launches31 in 100
PriceActualExpectedAllUnder $5$5 to $10$10 to $20$20 to $40

Lens checkOne-hit market. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: moves the answer. Last 18 months: holds.

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Earnings

$10 to $20

Estimated first-year earnings. Sales on Steam before Steam's cut; about 58% of it reaches the developer.

Reach $10k+under 100 launches, no typical83 in 100
Reach $1k+98 in 100
Reach $100k+31 in 100
All genres, $10k+52 in 100
Launches studied58

Lens checkOne-hit market. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: moves the answer. Last 18 months: too few to tell.

How earnings work

One-hit check

top game

Money in one gameOne-hit

Palworldover half the money67.8%

68 in 100dollars went to one game

32 in 100hit $100k+ without it, was 33 in 100

Lens checkOne-hit market. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: moves the answer. Last 18 months: holds.

Why medians hold up

Life cycle

needs data

New launches a year, all store games

77 launcheslast 12 months, was 57+35.1%
Tell me when ready

Rising demand

#41 of 107

Holds players vs same-age games, descriptive

No clear changethe range includes no change, 83 games-5.7%
Vs same-age games-5.7%
Without top game-9.6%
Reviews46,891was 35,986
Top game49.1%of reviews

Lens checkWithout the breakout: holds. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: not run yet. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: not run yet.

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Upcoming

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God Save Birminghamno date#60
KYORAno date#62
Zeverlandno date#72
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Best pairs

could be luck

Best odds of a $100k+ year, with expectedFree until launch

+ Base Buildingabout 1.8 times expected (23 in 100)41 in 100
PairActualExpected+ Base Building+ Sandbox+ Open World+ Survival+ Crafting

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

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Best pairsFree until launchClick to unlockWhich pairs beat the odds

Spotlight

every board

Every board, one cardFree until launch

Open World Survival Craftlast 4 quarters, 59 launchestoo few
Last 4 quarterstoo few59 launches, typical needs 100
Launch success#9of 116, 32 in 100
Anticipated#20of 135, 123 on chart
Rising demand#41of 107, -5.7%
Open free preview
SpotlightFree until launchClick to unlockEvery board, one card

Data facts

Every count on this page, with its sample and date, in seven labels. The numbered notes beside each label say what each figure means, where it comes from and what limits it.

Data facts

Open World Survival Craft, genre page

7 labels per genre page

Cohort1Steam launches 12 to 36 months oldindie paid
Figures as of2odds and earnings of 2 Nov 202611 Nov 2026
1

Who is counted

Indie paid Steam launches 12 to 36 months old: old enough to have a full first year, recent enough to be today's market. Games from major publishers, games over $40, adult and free games are left out.

110 of the 1,305 store games tagged Open World Survival Craft are in it; the rest are older, newer, free or from big publishers. All genres together: 26,758 launches.

2

Where it comes from

Odds, earnings, lenses and pairs: figures made on 2 Nov 2026 from GMD's warehouse of store data.

Boards, launch counts and upcoming games: the store data of 11 Nov 2026. Every figure is derived from public store data; no game list is copied.

Sample

Per 110 launches, 2 Nov 2026

MeasureLaunches

Launches studied1110
under $5315 too few
$5 to $10318 too few
$10 to $2058
$20 to $40319 too few
All genreslaunches in the cohort26,758
Store games with the tagstore data, 11 Nov 20261,305
3

Small samples

A price band needs 30 launches to be read on this page (the Sample filter; never under 10). Below that the page says "too few" instead of a figure, and under 30 launches or 5 hits a chance is written as a count, such as "10 of 20 launches".

Even at 30 launches, one extra hit moves the chance by over 3 in 100, so treat close figures as equal. Here: under $5 has 15, $5 to $10 has 18, $20 to $40 has 19. Pairs need 30+ launches to be ranked: 5 of 7 qualify.

4

Price is built in

Revenue is estimated from reviews times price, so a dearer game reaches $100k with fewer reviews. That makes odds climb with price in every genre. All genres: 1 in 230 under $5, 1 in 28 $5 to $10, 21 in 100 $10 to $20, 44 in 100 $20 to $40.

So compare odds within a price band. "Expected at its prices" is the chance this genre would have if each of its launches did as well as all games at the same price: 19 in 100.

First-year earnings

Per 110 launches, 2 Nov 2026, all prices

MeasureEstimated

Earned $100k+5of 110 launches36
Chance of $100k+all genres 1 in 1533 in 100
Expected at its prices419 in 100
Beats its prices7actual 33 in 100, expected 19 in 100: could be luckabout 1.7 times
Typical game (median)6half of 110 earned more$26,878
Top quarter over$388,644
Top tenth over$1,614,845
All genres, cohort median26,758 launches$562
5

A soft estimate

A hit is an estimated first-year revenue of $100k or more: store reviews x a reviews-to-sales multiplier x price x the share of list price actually paid after discounts, with a regional price adjustment (games sold mostly to Chinese-speaking players earn less per sale, because regional prices are lower).

Sales on Steam before Steam's cut; about 58% of it reaches the developer.

Nobody publishes the true multiplier. Across its likely range the all-genre chance moves from 4.8 to 8.4 in 100, and a third of all hits sit within 2x of the $100k line. Read every chance as "about": this genre is about 33 in 100.

6

Typical means median

Half of the launches earned more, half less. One huge hit cannot move it, which is why this page uses medians, not averages.

The all-genre figure beside it is the cohort median ($562, 26,758 launches). "Typical, last 4 quarters" further down is a different measure, named for what it is.

Typical figures are shown from 100 launches; below that the page shows the chance of clearing $1k, $10k and $100k.

7

May be luck

With about 300 genres, chance alone gives the best one a lead near 1.8 times its expected odds (2.05 times for the top 5 in 100).

Open World Survival Craft beats its prices about 1.7 times (actual 33 in 100, expected 19 in 100), under 1.8 times, so the lead could be luck. There are many more pairs than genres, so the Best pairs card uses higher lines: 2.37 times, and 2.56 for the top 5 in 100.

Lens check

Per 110 launches, 2 Nov 2026, all prices

MeasureStandard is the base

Standard8Base110 of 110 launches, 33 in 100, typical $26,878
West-facing view9Holds109 of 110 launches, 33 in 100, typical $26,878
Without the breakout11Moves the answer109 of 110 launches, 32 in 100, typical $25,255
Last 18 months10Holds27 of 110 launches, 10 of 27 launches
8

The four lenses

Each lens reruns the figures on a slice of the launches. Standard is the base: every launch in the cohort. It is not a lens that can hold or move.

A lens moves the answer when its chance of $100k+ differs from the standard by more than a random slice of the same size would, with 5+ hits on both sides, or when its typical earnings move over 25% with 100+ launches in the lens. Without the breakout moves it when one game earned over half the money. With fewer hits it is too few to tell. Pips: green holds, coral moves, grey too few or not run.

Lens figures cover all prices; they are not split by price band yet.

9

The West-facing view

The West-facing view keeps games mostly reviewed outside China: it sets aside games with 35% or more of their reviews in Chinese (1 of 110 here).

Review language is measured only for games with 2,000+ reviews; for smaller games it is guessed from the game's name. The audience split is genre-specific: leaving those games out changes typical earnings 53% in FMV and 19% in Dating Sim, yet barely moves the all-genre chance (6.1 to 6.0 in 100).

Here typical earnings move 0.0%, inside the 25% line; 2.5% of its revenue-weighted reviews are in Chinese.

10

Recency

Last 18 months keeps launches 18 months old or newer (27 of 110). Tastes move: only 9 of the top 15 genres by hit rate stay top 15 on recent launches.

When the two disagree, prefer the recent figure. Here: 10 of 27 launches against 33 in 100, typical $49,037 against $26,878: it holds.

Concentration

Per 110 launches, 2 Nov 2026

MeasureShare of the money

Biggest game's share11Palworld67.8%
Chance without it109 launches32 in 100
Mostly reviewed in Chinese91 of 110 launches0.9%
Share of Chinese-language reviewsrevenue-weighted, part guessed from names, 11 Nov 20262.5%
11

One-hit markets

A genre is one-hit when one game holds over half its money. Across genres the top game holds 29% in the median genre and the top tenth of games 94%; 57 genres have one game over half.

It is a one-hit market: Palworld holds 68% of its money. Read odds and medians, not totals: Rising demand and anticipation are sums, so one launch can move them. Without it, 32 in 100 still hit $100k+.

Market around it

Per store data, 11 Nov 2026

MeasureAll store games

New launches, last 12 months1257 the 12 before, all store games77
Wishlistable now13423
On the wishlist chart1 adult games left out100
Verified dates, next 90 days0
Pairs with 30+ launches35 of 7
Rising demand1483 games, #41 of 107-5.7%
Launch success rank#9 of 116
Most anticipated rank#20 of 135
12

Launch counts

New launches count every store game with the tag released in each 12 months, not only the indie cohort, from the store data of 11 Nov 2026.

77 against 57 is +35.1%: more games now compete for the same players. Earlier years and a life-cycle stage are not computed yet.

13

Upcoming games

423 store pages carry the tag and can be wishlisted. 100 are on Steam's wishlist chart (1 adult games left out).

A date counts as verified only when the release-calendar job checked it against the live store, for the next 90 days. Other dates are as the store lists them.

14

Boards and ranks

Rising demand: games here hold their players better than similar games of the same age (reviews, games launched since 2021), Aug to Oct 2026 against 2025, from 83 games. It describes; the backtest found it does not predict launches.

Ranks are among 116 (Launch success), 135 (Most anticipated), 107 (Rising demand), 126 (Typical earnings) genres. Typical, last 4 quarters ($25,255, 59 launches) uses launches of 2024Q4 to 2025Q3 only, so it differs from the cohort median.

Not computed yet

Per genre, as of 2 Nov 2026

MeasureSaid, never guessed

Lens figures by price band15not yet
Life-cycle stagenot yet
Gaining fastnot yet
Outside sales checknot yet

Derived figures only, estimated from public store data. GMD is not affiliated with Valve.

15

Not computed yet

Lens figures by price band: lens figures are not split by price yet.

Life-cycle stage: needs launch counts further back than two years.

Gaining fast: follower readings started 30 Sep; first readings 13 Oct.

An outside check: the backtest scores predictions against the same review-based estimate, so it shows review counts are predictable, not revenue. Fixing that needs outside sales data.

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Odds today36 of 110 hit $100k+33 in 100
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Preview

Its first email, from today's figures

SubjectOpen World Survival Craft this month: odds, earnings, releases

Chance of $100k+36 of 110 launches, first year
33 in 100
Typical first year (median)half of 110 launches earned more
$26,878
New launches, last 12 months57 the 12 before, all store games
77
Next verified releaseno verified date in the next 90 days
none
Best pair with 30+ launches+ Base Building, 54 launches
41 in 100

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Releases

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