Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Economy / Resource Management
Economy + Resource Management: a typical launch earns $3,033 in its first year
That is the median of 68 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 25 of 132 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 13.9 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 151% on the year before: 188 against 75.
- Price
- $3,033 median of 68 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −67.1% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 188 75 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 494 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 968 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. | 0.33%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.19% to 0.54% | 37 ranked of 494 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #692 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 | 1.27x to 2.14x | 132 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #451 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −49%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −61% to −40% | 57 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,313 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −9%review growth against same-age games | −17% to 0% | 57 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,271 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
- 132
- Hit rate
- 18.9%10.9% to 31.1%
- Expected rate
- 10.5%
- Against expected
- 1.65x1.27x to 2.14x
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
132 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
- $3,883
- Top tenth
- $223,515
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
- +151%
- Against Steam
- +78%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.
- Resource ManagementNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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.
- Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator (opens the Steam store)2026 · 10,253 reviews, 95% positiveest. $4.1M
- Scritchy Scratchy (opens the Steam store)2026 · 15,717 reviews, 94% positiveest. $2.1M
- News Tower (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,328 reviews, 93% positiveest. $2.1M
- Grocery Store Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,343 reviews, 90% positiveest. $1.6M
- Esports Manager 2026 (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,957 reviews, 73% positiveest. $1.5M
- Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,034 reviews, 91% positiveest. $1.2M
- Roadside Research (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,023 reviews, 85% positiveest. $1.2M
- SteamWorld Build (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,895 reviews, 83% positiveest. $959k
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 Resource Management
pairs with Resource Management- Sandbox + Resource Management$18,39749 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Resource Management + Automation$12,44539 launches priced, 152 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + Resource Management$9,79344 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- City Builder + Resource Management$8,36456 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Resource Management$8,05030 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Building + Resource Management$6,54574 launches priced, 101 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.