Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Building + 2D: a typical launch earns $485 in its first year

That is the median of 65 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 126 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 49% on the year before: 113 against 76.

Price: $485
Price vs a year earlier: +19.9%
Releases, 12 months: 113
Upcoming games: 320
Games on the store: 828

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.

Building + 2D 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.	0.23%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.12% to 0.37%	20 ranked of 320 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#949 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.01xhits against expected	0.68x to 1.59x	126 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,767 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	−7%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−27% to +13%	29 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,649 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	0%review growth against same-age games	−7% to +10%	29 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,974 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: 6
Expected: 6.0

Launches: 126
Hit rate: 4.8%2.4% to 11.5%
Expected rate: 4.7%
Against expected: 1.01x0.68x to 1.59x

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

126 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: $687
Top tenth: $34,604

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: 113
Prior 12 months: 76

Change: +49%
Against Steam: +8%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

BuildingGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
2DNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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 Building

pairs with Building

Building + Cozy$14,48232 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
Building + Life Sim$12,54245 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
Building + Colony Sim$11,53947 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
Building + Automation$8,28246 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months
Building + Economy$7,77095 launches priced, 122 releases in 12 months
Building + Immersive Sim$7,64451 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Building

More with 2D

pairs with 2D

2D + Roguelike Deckbuilder$6,77234 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
2D + Romance$3,28176 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
War + 2D$3,16035 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
2D + Dating Sim$2,55991 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
2D + LGBTQ+$2,46550 launches priced, 85 releases in 12 months
2D + Historical$2,32474 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months

Every pair with 2D

Verdicts

in development

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