Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Arcade + Sandbox: a typical launch earns $455 in its first year

That is the median of 38 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 3 of 75 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 25% on the year before: 55 against 44.

Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
One game dominates the figure

Price: $455
Price vs a year earlier: −65.4%
Releases, 12 months: 55
Upcoming games: 174
Games on the store: 414

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.

Arcade + Sandbox 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. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	0.10%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.03% to 0.21%	14 ranked of 174 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#5,645 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese One game dominates the figure Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games Listed after unflagged rows on this board	0.97xhits against expected	0.68x to 1.64x	75 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#6,093 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period.
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window.

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: 3.2

Launches: 75
Hit rate: 4.0%0.0% to 9.4%
Expected rate: 4.3%
Against expected: 0.97x0.68x to 1.64x

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

75 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: $425
Top tenth: $11,270

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: 55
Prior 12 months: 44

Change: +25%

Parent tags

ArcadeGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
SandboxGenre 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 Arcade

pairs with Arcade

Co-op + Arcade$1,37646 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
Arcade + Twin Stick Shooter$1,01169 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
Arcade + Female Protagonist$96168 launches priced, 82 releases in 12 months
Arcade + Local Co-Op$96050 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
Arcade + Anime$91052 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Arcade + Difficult$80679 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Arcade

More with Sandbox

pairs with Sandbox

Sandbox + Multiplayer$32,53338 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Resource Management$18,39749 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Economy$15,26966 launches priced, 136 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Management$11,910116 launches priced, 204 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + City Builder$11,53977 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Colony Sim$10,01834 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Sandbox

Verdicts

in development

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