Simulation + Character Customization: a typical launch earns $1,062 in its first year

That is the median of 58 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 18 of 125 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 13.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 79% on the year before: 136 against 76.

Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games

Price: $1,062
Price vs a year earlier: −84.2%
Releases, 12 months: 136
Upcoming games: 362
Games on the store: 797

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 + Character Customization 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.	0.43%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.30% to 0.65%	52 ranked of 362 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#543 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games	1.29xhits against expected	0.95x to 1.74x	125 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,396 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure	−27%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−46% to −5%	54 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,122 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	−10%review growth against same-age games	−23% to +3%	54 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#2,422 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: 18
Expected: 13.3

Launches: 125
Hit rate: 13.7%8.5% to 25.9%
Expected rate: 10.7%
Against expected: 1.29x0.95x to 1.74x

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

124 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: $101
Median: $2,022
Top tenth: $125,666

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: 136
Prior 12 months: 76

Change: +79%
Against Steam: +24%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Character CustomizationNot 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 Character Customization

pairs with Character Customization

Open World + Character Customization$4,55339 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Character Customization$4,44639 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
Dungeon Crawler + Character Customization$3,45838 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
Character Customization + Choices Matter$3,15735 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
Choose Your Own Adventure + Character Customization$2,97334 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
RPG + Character Customization$2,832132 launches priced, 170 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Character Customization

Verdicts

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