Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

2D + City Builder: a typical launch earns $1,031 in its first year

That is the median of 50 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 3 of 87 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 7% on the year before: 64 against 60.

Price: $1,031
Price vs a year earlier: +89.2%
Releases, 12 months: 64
Upcoming games: 180
Games on the store: 505

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

2D + City Builder on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.	0.27%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.14% to 0.41%	16 ranked of 180 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#843 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	0.72xhits against expected	0.50x to 1.22x	87 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#4,638 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+40%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+1% to +93%	31 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#294 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+10%review growth against same-age games	−7% to +36%	31 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#298 of 2,461pairs on this board

Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.

Launch success

launches 6 to 30 months old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 3
Expected: 5.4

Launches: 87
Hit rate: 3.4%1.4% to 13.6%
Expected rate: 6.2%
Against expected: 0.72x0.50x to 1.22x

Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.

Revenue spread

87 launches

Estimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.

Bottom tenth: $0
Median: $1,214
Top tenth: $54,919

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 64
Prior 12 months: 60

Change: +7%
Against Steam: −22%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

2DNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
City BuilderGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.

More with 2D

pairs with 2D

2D + Roguelike Deckbuilder$6,77234 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
2D + Romance$3,28176 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
War + 2D$3,16035 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
2D + Dating Sim$2,55991 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
2D + LGBTQ+$2,46550 launches priced, 85 releases in 12 months
2D + Historical$2,32474 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months

Every pair with 2D

More with City Builder

pairs with City Builder

Sandbox + City Builder$11,53977 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
City Builder + Base Building$11,53773 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
City Builder + Economy$9,56148 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
Tower Defense + City Builder$8,80032 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
City Builder + Resource Management$8,36456 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
City Builder + Management$8,27073 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months

Every pair with City Builder

Verdicts

in development

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