Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Wargame + Top-Down: a typical launch earns $1,700 in its first year
That is the median of 31 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 4 of 70 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 24% on the year before: 51 against 41.
- Price
- $1,700 median of 31 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +250.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 51 41 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 132 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 337 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.
| 0.18%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.06% to 0.34% | 15 ranked of 132 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #5,131 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.97xhits against expected | 0.67x to 1.60x | 70 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,941 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 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
- 70
- Hit rate
- 5.7%1.5% to 11.8%
- Expected rate
- 6.0%
- Against expected
- 0.97x0.67x to 1.60x
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
70 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
- $0
- Median
- $718
- Top tenth
- $12,078
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
- +24%
Parent tags
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.
- Three Kingdoms Mushouden (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,880 reviews, 72% positiveest. $951k
- ICBM: Escalation (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,256 reviews, 86% positiveest. $763k
- Ratten Reich (opens the Steam store)2024 · 619 reviews, 40% positiveest. $251k
- Minimalist Tower Defense (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,839 reviews, 94% positiveest. $186k
- Air Defender (opens the Steam store)2025 · 376 reviews, 79% positiveest. $154k
- Death Ring: Second Impact (opens the Steam store)2025 · 164 reviews, 78% positiveest. $66k
- Empire Earth: Gold Edition (opens the Steam store)2026 · 220 reviews, 90% positiveest. $27k
- Battlefield Commander WWII (opens the Steam store)2025 · 54 reviews, 70% positiveest. $22k
More with Wargame
pairs with Wargame- Historical + Wargame$4,50234 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Grand Strategy + Wargame$4,04836 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Wargame$3,54550 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based Strategy + Wargame$2,26565 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months
- War + Wargame$2,18667 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
- Wargame + Turn-Based Tactics$1,92146 launches priced, 72 releases in 12 months
More with Top-Down
pairs with Top-Down- City Builder + Top-Down$1,55732 launches priced, 37 releases in 12 months
- Top-Down + Female Protagonist$1,09231 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Twin Stick Shooter + Top-Down$1,01140 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Top-Down$707143 launches priced, 271 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Top-Down$68543 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
- Cute + Top-Down$627130 launches priced, 190 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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