Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / City Builder / Colony Sim
City Builder + Colony Sim: a typical launch earns $5,262 in its first year
That is the median of 65 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 34 of 122 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 19.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 13% on the year before: 78 against 69.
- Price
- $5,262 median of 65 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −76.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 78 69 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 409 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 877 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. | 1.04%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.74% to 1.49% | 71 ranked of 409 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #219 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.61xhits against expected | 1.29x to 1.99x | 122 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #530 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +27%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +4% to +61% | 83 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #565 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +5%review growth against same-age games | −7% to +15% | 83 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #566 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 oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 122
- Hit rate
- 27.9%19.6% to 39.4%
- Expected rate
- 16.3%
- Against expected
- 1.61x1.29x to 1.99x
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
122 launchesEstimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.
- Bottom tenth
- $80
- Median
- $6,879
- Top tenth
- $857,782
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +13%
- Against Steam
- −17%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- City BuilderGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Colony SimGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe 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.
- Infection Free Zone (opens the Steam store)2024 · 16,636 reviews, 80% positiveest. $7.6M
- Norland (opens the Steam store)2024 · 8,941 reviews, 81% positiveest. $5M
- Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 10,692 reviews, 92% positiveest. $4.2M
- Pioneers of Pagonia (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,811 reviews, 81% positiveest. $3.3M
- Stronghold: Definitive Edition (opens the Steam store)2023 · 9,800 reviews, 86% positiveest. $2.9M
- The Crust (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,764 reviews, 75% positiveest. $2.4M
- Cataclismo (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,897 reviews, 88% positiveest. $2.2M
- Whiskerwood (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,363 reviews, 92% positiveest. $1.9M
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
More with Colony Sim
pairs with Colony Sim- Base Building + Colony Sim$22,86553 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- Management + Colony Sim$15,78739 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- Building + Colony Sim$11,53947 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Colony Sim$10,01834 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Survival + Colony Sim$9,88130 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Colony Sim$5,09263 launches priced, 118 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.