Simulation + Turn-Based Strategy: a typical launch earns $1,699 in its first year

That is the median of 75 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 152 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 12.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 86% on the year before: 175 against 94.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $1,699
Price vs a year earlier: −23.6%
Releases, 12 months: 175
Upcoming games: 329
Games on the store: 929

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 + Turn-Based Strategy 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.	0.13%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.08% to 0.17%	27 ranked of 329 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#1,496 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese Listed after unflagged rows on this board	0.76xhits against expected	0.53x to 1.15x	152 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#6,229 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	−28%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−43% to −15%	31 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,142 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	−3%review growth against same-age games	−13% to +7%	31 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#2,216 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: 9
Expected: 12.7

Launches: 152
Hit rate: 6.5%2.8% to 12.2%
Expected rate: 8.4%
Against expected: 0.76x0.53x to 1.15x

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

153 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: $1,638
Top tenth: $51,201

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: 175
Prior 12 months: 94

Change: +86%
Against Steam: +35%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Turn-Based StrategyGenre 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 Turn-Based Strategy

pairs with Turn-Based Strategy

Turn-Based Strategy + Story Rich$8,09741 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
Turn-Based Strategy + Roguelike Deckbuilder$7,14342 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
Turn-Based + Turn-Based Strategy$5,79134 launches priced, 60 releases in 12 months
Turn-Based Strategy + Historical$4,04836 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
War + Turn-Based Strategy$3,84640 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Turn-Based Strategy + Deckbuilding$3,05388 launches priced, 169 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Turn-Based Strategy

Verdicts

in development

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