Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
RTS + Wargame: a typical launch earns $3,545 in its first year
That is the median of 50 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 14 of 112 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 10.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 26% on the year before: 91 against 72.
- Price
- $3,545 median of 50 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +484.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 91 72 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 269 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 702 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. | 0.41%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.23% to 0.70% | 34 ranked of 269 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #561 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.27xhits against expected | 0.91x to 1.77x | 112 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,476 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −1%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −26% to +29% | 47 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,489 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 | −15% to −4% | 47 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,265 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
- 112
- Hit rate
- 12.5%7.0% to 26.5%
- Expected rate
- 9.3%
- Against expected
- 1.27x0.91x to 1.77x
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
112 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
- $0
- Median
- $1,374
- Top tenth
- $126,137
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
- +26%
- Against Steam
- −8%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
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.
- Age of History 3 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 18,246 reviews, 85% positiveest. $3.6M
- Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,430 reviews, 82% positiveest. $2.7M
- Master of Command (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,876 reviews, 92% positiveest. $2.3M
- ZeroSpace (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,196 reviews, 78% positiveest. $969k
- Tabletop Tavern (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,096 reviews, 89% positiveest. $848k
- ICBM: Escalation (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,256 reviews, 86% positiveest. $763k
- Empire of the Ants (opens the Steam store)2024 · 931 reviews, 73% positiveest. $754k
- Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,035 reviews, 48% positiveest. $629k
More with RTS
pairs with RTS- RTS + Base Building$13,91454 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- RTS + War$4,48634 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Roguelite$3,51736 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Building + RTS$3,03535 launches priced, 34 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Roguelike$3,03133 launches priced, 40 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Grand Strategy$2,63033 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
More with Wargame
pairs with Wargame- Historical + Wargame$4,50234 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Grand Strategy + Wargame$4,04836 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based Strategy + Wargame$2,26565 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
- War + Wargame$2,18667 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
- Wargame + Turn-Based Tactics$1,92146 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
- Wargame + Top-Down$1,70031 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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