Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Sandbox + Sci-fi: 35 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. 11 of 47 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 5.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 21% on the year before: 35 against 29.
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 35 29 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 134 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 331 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. | 0.57%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.31% to 0.87% | 30 ranked of 134 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #416 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.59xhits against expected | 1.14x to 2.21x | 47 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #564 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +35%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −9% to +93% | 20 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #378 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +18%review growth against same-age games | +4% to +30% | 20 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #57 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
- 23.4%11.1% to 30.1%
- Expected rate
- 12.3%
- Against expected
- 1.59x1.14x to 2.21x
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
- $32
- Median
- $2,122
- Top tenth
- $738,674
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
- +21%
- Against Steam
- −13%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.
- Space Engineers 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,166 reviews, 74% positiveest. $3.1M
- Project Silverfish (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,154 reviews, 92% positiveest. $1.9M
- SpaceCraft (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,641 reviews, 63% positiveest. $1.6M
- ZEPHON (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,872 reviews, 82% positiveest. $1.5M
- Cubic Odyssey (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,407 reviews, 74% positiveest. $1.2M
- Starminer (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,827 reviews, 72% positiveest. $1.1M
- AETHUS (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,048 reviews, 94% positiveest. $829k
- Skin Deep (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,676 reviews, 94% positiveest. $678k
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
More with Sci-fi
pairs with Sci-fi- Sci-fi + Anime$4,24936 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Sci-fi + Cyberpunk$3,08346 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- Sci-fi + Cute$1,80330 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Sci-fi$1,61786 launches priced, 117 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Sci-fi$1,61665 launches priced, 76 releases in 12 months
- Exploration + Sci-fi$1,457125 launches priced, 163 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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