Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Sandbox + Stylized: a typical launch earns $606 in its first year
That is the median of 35 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 65 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 68% on the year before: 67 against 40.
- Price
- $606 median of 35 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −44.5% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 67 40 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 238 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 433 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. | 0.15%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.08% to 0.21% | 21 ranked of 238 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,287 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.18xhits against expected | 0.80x to 1.87x | 65 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,862 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
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
- 65
- Hit rate
- 7.7%3.2% to 11.3%
- Expected rate
- 5.8%
- Against expected
- 1.18x0.80x to 1.87x
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
65 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
- $69
- Median
- $971
- Top tenth
- $34,664
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
- +68%
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.
- Critter Cove (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,739 reviews, 94% positiveest. $880k
- BRUTALISTICK VR (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,846 reviews, 94% positiveest. $373k
- Turbo Dismount® 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 756 reviews, 95% positiveest. $306k
- Gedonia 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 900 reviews, 82% positiveest. $273k
- E-Shop Tycoon (opens the Steam store)2026 · 630 reviews, 72% positiveest. $178k
- Ultimate Theater Simulator (opens the Steam store)2025 · 644 reviews, 88% positiveest. $169k
- ShantyTown (opens the Steam store)2026 · 435 reviews, 97% positiveest. $132k
- Aquapark Tycoon (opens the Steam store)2026 · 281 reviews, 89% positiveest. $131k
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 Stylized
pairs with Stylized- Roguelite + Stylized$2,12543 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
- Story Rich + Stylized$1,48650 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months
- Surreal + Stylized$1,26334 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- FPS + Stylized$1,01141 launches priced, 79 releases in 12 months
- Stylized + Linear$75830 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Stylized + 2D Platformer$70731 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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