Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Simulation + Cartoon: a typical launch earns $445 in its first year

That is the median of 67 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 133 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 5% on the year before: 77 against 81.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $445
Price vs a year earlier: −57.0%
Releases, 12 months: 77
Upcoming games: 188
Games on the store: 522

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.

Simulation + Cartoon 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.	0.06%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.04% to 0.09%	16 ranked of 188 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#2,370 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. One game dominates the figure	1.03xhits against expected	0.71x to 1.54x	133 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,640 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 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: 9
Expected: 8.7

Launches: 133
Hit rate: 6.8%4.8% to 12.5%
Expected rate: 6.5%
Against expected: 1.03x0.71x to 1.54x

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

133 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: $0
Median: $606
Top tenth: $59,382

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: 77
Prior 12 months: 81

Change: −5%

Parent tags

SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
CartoonNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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 Simulation

pairs with Simulation

Simulation + Shop Keeper$32,26936 launches priced, 330 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Cozy$15,70676 launches priced, 253 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Online Co-Op$11,02868 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Multiplayer$8,980122 launches priced, 253 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Base Building$7,38289 launches priced, 173 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Economy$6,979210 launches priced, 540 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Simulation

More with Cartoon

pairs with Cartoon

Exploration + Cartoon$48541 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
Puzzle + Cartoon$443100 launches priced, 105 releases in 12 months
Adventure + Cartoon$424113 launches priced, 132 releases in 12 months
Cartoon + Family Friendly$40551 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months
Platformer + Cartoon$36446 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
Action + Cartoon$343120 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Cartoon

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.