Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Sandbox / Open World Survival Craft
Sandbox + Open World Survival Craft: 26 releases in the last 12 months
There is no price yet: it needs 30 or more indie paid launches in the last four complete quarters. 17 of 47 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 4% on the year before: 26 against 27.
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 26 27 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 168 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 403 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. | 0.72%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.43% to 0.99% | 52 ranked of 168 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #337 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.78xhits against expected | 1.34x to 2.28x | 47 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #306 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +16%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −25% to +76% | 35 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #866 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −17%review growth against same-age games | −27% to −3% | 35 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,506 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
- 47
- Hit rate
- 36.2%24.9% to 48.7%
- Expected rate
- 17.5%
- Against expected
- 1.78x1.34x to 2.28x
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
47 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
- $764
- Median
- $20,964
- Top tenth
- $1,045,878
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
- −4%
- Against Steam
- −28%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- SandboxGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Open World Survival CraftGenre 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.
- ASKA (opens the Steam store)2024 · 10,509 reviews, 79% positiveest. $5.2M
- The Front (opens the Steam store)2023 · 9,544 reviews, 66% positiveest. $3.5M
- Solarpunk™ (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,550 reviews, 81% positiveest. $1.7M
- Sandustry (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,980 reviews, 97% positiveest. $1.5M
- Lost Skies (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,480 reviews, 63% positiveest. $1.3M
- TerraTech Worlds (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,030 reviews, 62% positiveest. $1.2M
- Cubic Odyssey (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,407 reviews, 74% positiveest. $1.2M
- Mirthwood (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,242 reviews, 69% positiveest. $1.1M
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
Related niches
pairs with Open World Survival Craft- Crafting + Open World Survival Craft$26,87533 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- Survival + Open World Survival Craft$18,44140 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
- Open World + Open World Survival Craft$14,79431 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Open World Survival Craft$13,97334 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
- Adventure + Open World Survival Craftno price32 releases in 12 months
- Base Building + Open World Survival Craftno price31 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD 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.