Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Simulation + FPS: a typical launch earns $1,011 in its first year

That is the median of 101 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 15 of 207 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 11.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 18% on the year before: 141 against 119.

Price: $1,011
Price vs a year earlier: +66.7%
Releases, 12 months: 141
Upcoming games: 352
Games on the store: 1,028

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 + FPS 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.	0.27%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.17% to 0.37%	42 ranked of 352 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#838 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.25xhits against expected	0.90x to 1.76x	207 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,545 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+36%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+6% to +72%	37 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#361 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+17%review growth against same-age games	+3% to +32%	37 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#80 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: 15
Expected: 11.4

Launches: 207
Hit rate: 7.2%5.1% to 11.7%
Expected rate: 5.5%
Against expected: 1.25x0.90x to 1.76x

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

207 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: $40
Median: $962
Top tenth: $49,362

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: 141
Prior 12 months: 119

Change: +18%
Against Steam: −14%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
FPSGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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 FPS

pairs with FPS

FPS + Online Co-Op$13,34030 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
FPS + Roguelite$5,46236 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
FPS + Immersive Sim$3,84453 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
FPS + Story Rich$3,09340 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
FPS + Co-op$2,58933 launches priced, 36 releases in 12 months
FPS + Boomer Shooter$2,15474 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months

Every pair with FPS

Verdicts

in development

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