Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Sandbox + Immersive Sim: a typical launch earns $5,462 in its first year

That is the median of 114 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 31 of 221 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 22.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 22% on the year before: 169 against 139.

Price: $5,462
Price vs a year earlier: +77.1%
Releases, 12 months: 169
Upcoming games: 549
Games on the store: 1,184

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 + Immersive 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. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	1.96%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.55% to 3.40%	77 ranked of 549 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#4,026 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.33xhits against expected	1.04x to 1.70x	221 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,225 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	0%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−23% to +24%	81 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,453 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−12%review growth against same-age games	−26% to 0%	81 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,381 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: 31
Expected: 22.5

Launches: 221
Hit rate: 13.6%8.2% to 25.6%
Expected rate: 10.2%
Against expected: 1.33x1.04x to 1.70x

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

220 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: $81
Median: $4,448
Top tenth: $149,520

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: 169
Prior 12 months: 139

Change: +22%
Against Steam: −12%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SandboxGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Immersive 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 + Colony Sim$10,01834 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Sandbox

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

Every pair with Immersive Sim

Verdicts

in development

GMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.