Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Economy / Management
Economy + Management: a typical launch earns $7,576 in its first year
That is the median of 212 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 71 of 413 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 41.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 94% on the year before: 458 against 236.
- Price
- $7,576 median of 212 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +9.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 458 236 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 1,068 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,349 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. | 0.99%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.70% to 1.33% | 92 ranked of 1,068 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #228 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.65xhits against expected | 1.39x to 1.95x | 413 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #462 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −36%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −45% to −26% | 133 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,242 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 | −18% to −1% | 133 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,281 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
- 413
- Hit rate
- 17.2%12.3% to 23.4%
- Expected rate
- 10.2%
- Against expected
- 1.65x1.39x to 1.95x
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
413 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
- $186
- Median
- $5,737
- Top tenth
- $208,780
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
- +94%
- Against Steam
- +41%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- EconomyNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- ManagementGenre 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.
- Supermarket Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 79,411 reviews, 92% positiveest. $32M
- Farming Simulator 25 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 40,166 reviews, 87% positiveest. $24M
- TCG Card Shop Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 47,849 reviews, 96% positiveest. $19M
- Terra Invicta (opens the Steam store)2026 · 9,088 reviews, 79% positiveest. $7M
- Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator (opens the Steam store)2026 · 10,253 reviews, 95% positiveest. $4.1M
- ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs (opens the Steam store)2026 · 9,704 reviews, 95% positiveest. $3.8M
- Town to City (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,214 reviews, 97% positiveest. $3.7M
- Waterpark Simulator (opens the Steam store)2026 · 13,520 reviews, 96% positiveest. $3.5M
More with Economy
pairs with Economy- Trading + Economy$24,39844 launches priced, 105 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Economy$15,26966 launches priced, 136 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Shop Keeper$15,12233 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Life Sim$15,00083 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Immersive Sim$14,95288 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Economy$10,95531 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
More with Management
pairs with Management- Management + Shop Keeper$31,61235 launches priced, 187 releases in 12 months
- Trading + Management$22,06052 launches priced, 89 releases in 12 months
- Multiplayer + Management$19,88833 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
- Management + Colony Sim$15,78739 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Management$13,70546 launches priced, 74 releases in 12 months
- Capitalism + Management$13,15777 launches priced, 165 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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