Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Open World + Crafting: a typical launch earns $7,487 in its first year

That is the median of 60 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 33 of 124 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 20.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 54% on the year before: 105 against 68.

Price: $7,487
Price vs a year earlier: −79.3%
Releases, 12 months: 105
Upcoming games: 482
Games on the store: 1,052

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.

Open World + Crafting 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.	3.39%share of upcoming wishlist heat	2.17% to 5.12%	121 ranked of 482 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#54 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.57xhits against expected	1.25x to 1.95x	124 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#601 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	−34% to +9%	76 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,820 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	−14% to +9%	76 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#956 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 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: 33
Expected: 20.0

Launches: 124
Hit rate: 26.6%17.7% to 34.9%
Expected rate: 16.1%
Against expected: 1.57x1.25x 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

124 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: $214
Median: $11,433
Top tenth: $1,031,811

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: 105
Prior 12 months: 68

Change: +54%
Against Steam: +11%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Open WorldNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
CraftingNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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 Open World

pairs with Open World

Open World + Multiplayer$15,60236 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
Open World + Open World Survival Craft$14,79431 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
Open World + Life Sim$13,38736 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Driving + Open World$6,51131 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
Building + Open World$5,98741 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
Open World + Cute$5,88634 launches priced, 33 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Open World

More with Crafting

pairs with Crafting

Crafting + Open World Survival Craft$26,87533 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
Crafting + Resource Management$9,79344 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Crafting + Base Building$8,90179 launches priced, 125 releases in 12 months
Crafting + Life Sim$8,45137 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months
Crafting + First-Person$6,99934 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
Crafting + Management$6,87873 launches priced, 136 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Crafting

Verdicts

in development

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