Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Realistic / Immersive Sim
Realistic + Immersive Sim: a typical launch earns $2,153 in its first year
That is the median of 156 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 36 of 292 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 27.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 13% on the year before: 207 against 183.
- Price
- $2,153 median of 156 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −21.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 207 183 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 421 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,142 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. | 0.30%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.22% to 0.41% | 66 ranked of 421 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #753 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.28xhits against expected | 1.01x to 1.62x | 292 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,411 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +14%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −8% to +39% | 84 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #950 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 | −20% to +7% | 84 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,341 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
- 292
- Hit rate
- 12.3%6.8% to 18.5%
- Expected rate
- 9.4%
- Against expected
- 1.28x1.01x to 1.62x
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
292 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
- $60
- Median
- $2,046
- Top tenth
- $124,179
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
- +13%
- Against Steam
- −18%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- RealisticNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Immersive SimGenre 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.
- IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator (opens the Steam store)2026 · 13,930 reviews, 97% positiveest. $5.3M
- F1® Manager 2024 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,581 reviews, 83% positiveest. $3.8M
- MechWarrior 5: Clans (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,585 reviews, 74% positiveest. $3.4M
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl - Enhanced Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,669 reviews, 65% positiveest. $2.7M
- Train Sim World® 5 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,038 reviews, 80% positiveest. $2.3M
- OUTBRK (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,235 reviews, 82% positiveest. $2.3M
- Railroader (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,357 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2M
- Firefighting Simulator: Ignite (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,053 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1.5M
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
More with Immersive Sim
pairs with Immersive Sim- Cinematic + Immersive Sim$24,23132 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
- Capitalism + Immersive Sim$16,42037 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- Multiplayer + Immersive Sim$15,00039 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Immersive Sim$14,95288 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
- Immersive Sim + Management$8,720136 launches priced, 195 releases in 12 months
- Building + Immersive Sim$7,64451 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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