Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Open World + Realistic: a typical launch earns $2,023 in its first year

That is the median of 33 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 15 of 72 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 9.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 41% on the year before: 55 against 39.

Price: $2,023
Price vs a year earlier: −76.7%
Releases, 12 months: 55
Upcoming games: 175
Games on the store: 516

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 + Realistic 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.	0.72%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.35% to 1.07%	39 ranked of 175 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#336 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.41xhits against expected	1.03x to 1.91x	72 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#961 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+5%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−26% to +49%	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	#1,261 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+6%review growth against same-age games	−1% to +15%	57 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#530 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: 15
Expected: 9.8

Launches: 72
Hit rate: 20.8%15.2% to 26.8%
Expected rate: 13.6%
Against expected: 1.41x1.03x to 1.91x

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

72 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: $22
Median: $2,225
Top tenth: $793,745

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: 55
Prior 12 months: 39

Change: +41%
Against Steam: +1%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.
RealisticNot 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
Open World + Crafting$7,48760 launches priced, 105 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

Every pair with Open World

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

Every pair with Realistic

Verdicts

in development

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