Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Simulation / Co-op
Simulation + Co-op: a typical launch earns $6,445 in its first year
That is the median of 68 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 26 of 108 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 11.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 37% on the year before: 108 against 79.
- Price
- $6,445 median of 68 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −45.1% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 108 79 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 370 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 762 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. | 1.29%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.87% to 1.67% | 75 ranked of 370 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #185 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 2.06xhits against expected | 1.59x to 2.62x | 108 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #132 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +1%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −22% to +34% | 53 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,395 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −1%review growth against same-age games | −15% to +10% | 53 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #881 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
- 108
- Hit rate
- 23.4%17.9% to 31.4%
- Expected rate
- 10.3%
- Against expected
- 2.06x1.59x to 2.62x
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
107 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
- $40
- Median
- $6,839
- Top tenth
- $1,122,781
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
- +37%
- Against Steam
- −3%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Co-opNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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.
- Schedule I (opens the Steam store)2025 · 290,347 reviews, 97% positiveest. $117M
- Bodycam (opens the Steam store)2024 · 63,261 reviews, 80% positiveest. $42M
- GROUND BRANCH (opens the Steam store)2026 · 22,430 reviews, 83% positiveest. $13M
- House Flipper 2 (opens the Steam store)2023 · 16,619 reviews, 87% positiveest. $13M
- Bellwright (opens the Steam store)2024 · 20,215 reviews, 80% positiveest. $12M
- Drive Beyond Horizons (opens the Steam store)2025 · 17,980 reviews, 77% positiveest. $9M
- Chained Together (opens the Steam store)2024 · 54,926 reviews, 89% positiveest. $5M
- Waterpark Simulator (opens the Steam store)2026 · 13,520 reviews, 96% positiveest. $3.5M
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
More with Co-op
pairs with Co-op- Co-op + PvE$16,63155 launches priced, 88 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + First-Person$11,81190 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + Action Roguelike$10,63341 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Survival + Co-op$7,36134 launches priced, 70 releases in 12 months
- Horror + Co-op$7,08089 launches priced, 127 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + Online Co-Op$6,190195 launches priced, 381 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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