Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Sandbox + Colony Sim: a typical launch earns $10,018 in its first year

That is the median of 34 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 22 of 68 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 12.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 51% on the year before: 53 against 35.

Price: $10,018
Price vs a year earlier: −62.6%
Releases, 12 months: 53
Upcoming games: 240
Games on the store: 508

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.

Sandbox + Colony Sim 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.	0.78%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.36% to 1.17%	34 ranked of 240 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#309 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.61xhits against expected	1.24x to 2.04x	68 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#533 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	−38% to +17%	52 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,863 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−8%review growth against same-age games	−18% to 0%	52 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,206 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: 22
Expected: 12.5

Launches: 68
Hit rate: 32.4%23.9% to 41.6%
Expected rate: 18.4%
Against expected: 1.61x1.24x to 2.04x

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

68 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: $101
Median: $10,019
Top tenth: $1,089,719

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: 53
Prior 12 months: 35

Change: +51%
Against Steam: +7%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SandboxGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Colony SimGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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 Sandbox

pairs with Sandbox

Sandbox + Multiplayer$32,53338 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Resource Management$18,39749 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Economy$15,26966 launches priced, 136 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Management$11,910116 launches priced, 204 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + City Builder$11,53977 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Cozy$8,90137 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Sandbox

More with Colony Sim

pairs with Colony Sim

Base Building + Colony Sim$22,86553 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
Management + Colony Sim$15,78739 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
Building + Colony Sim$11,53947 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
Survival + Colony Sim$9,88130 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
City Builder + Colony Sim$5,26265 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Colony Sim$5,09263 launches priced, 118 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Colony Sim

Verdicts

in development

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