Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

3D + City Builder: a typical launch earns $577 in its first year

That is the median of 54 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 2 of 113 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 43% on the year before: 96 against 67.

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

Price: $577
Price vs a year earlier: −24.9%
Releases, 12 months: 96
Upcoming games: 267
Games on the store: 616

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.

3D + City Builder 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.	0.44%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.18% to 0.77%	24 ranked of 267 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#537 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	0.43xhits against expected	0.31x to 0.76x	113 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#5,721 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	−2%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−23% to +25%	19 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,516 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	+1%review growth against same-age games	−4% to +10%	19 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,915 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: 2
Expected: 8.7

Launches: 113
Hit rate: 1.8%0.0% to 7.6%
Expected rate: 7.7%
Against expected: 0.43x0.31x to 0.76x

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

113 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: $809
Top tenth: $27,885

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: 96
Prior 12 months: 67

Change: +43%
Against Steam: +4%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

3DNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
City BuilderGenre 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 3D

pairs with 3D

3D + Dark Humor$3,90132 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
3D + Cozy$3,23738 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
3D + Economy$3,15761 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
3D + Management$2,196130 launches priced, 192 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + 3D$2,162144 launches priced, 256 releases in 12 months
3D + Resource Management$2,02434 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months

Every pair with 3D

More with City Builder

pairs with City Builder

Sandbox + City Builder$11,53977 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
City Builder + Base Building$11,53773 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
City Builder + Economy$9,56148 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
Tower Defense + City Builder$8,80032 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
City Builder + Resource Management$8,36456 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
City Builder + Management$8,27073 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months

Every pair with City Builder

Verdicts

in development

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