Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Driving + Realistic: a typical launch earns $1,416 in its first year
That is the median of 41 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 17 of 87 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 11.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 18% on the year before: 53 against 45.
- Price
- $1,416 median of 41 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −87.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 53 45 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 114 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 436 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.
| 0.27%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.11% to 0.46% | 26 ranked of 114 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,820 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.36xhits against expected | 1.01x to 1.83x | 87 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,108 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +13%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −17% to +53% | 59 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #990 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −3%review growth against same-age games | −18% to +7% | 59 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,207 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
- 87
- Hit rate
- 19.5%10.1% to 28.3%
- Expected rate
- 13.4%
- Against expected
- 1.36x1.01x to 1.83x
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 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
- $40
- Median
- $1,457
- Top tenth
- $368,439
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
- +18%
- Against Steam
- −14%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
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.
- Assetto Corsa EVO (opens the Steam store)2025 · 16,629 reviews, 60% positiveest. $13M
- Le Mans Ultimate (opens the Steam store)2024 · 15,337 reviews, 79% positiveest. $12M
- Drive Beyond Horizons (opens the Steam store)2025 · 17,980 reviews, 77% positiveest. $9M
- My Winter Car (opens the Steam store)2025 · 18,800 reviews, 94% positiveest. $5.7M
- F1® Manager 2024 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,581 reviews, 83% positiveest. $3.8M
- Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,457 reviews, 62% positiveest. $2.6M
- Train Sim World® 5 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,038 reviews, 80% positiveest. $2.3M
- NASCAR 25 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,787 reviews, 72% positiveest. $1.4M
More with Driving
pairs with Driving- Driving + Exploration$10,40830 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
- Driving + Open World$6,51131 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Sports + Driving$1,82042 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Driving + First-Person$1,72038 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Driving$1,34486 launches priced, 123 releases in 12 months
- Driving + Immersive Sim$1,27439 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
More with Realistic
pairs with Realistic- Multiplayer + Realistic$17,04044 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Management$13,70546 launches priced, 74 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Economy$10,95531 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Life Sim$6,57659 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Realistic$5,46362 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Thriller + Realistic$3,21454 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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