Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Building / Colony Sim
Building + Colony Sim: a typical launch earns $11,539 in its first year
That is the median of 47 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 21 of 88 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 14.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 17% on the year before: 44 against 53.
- Price
- $11,539 median of 47 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −32.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 44 53 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 271 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 588 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. | 0.75%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.54% to 1.08% | 59 ranked of 271 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #319 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.36xhits against expected | 1.03x to 1.77x | 88 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,116 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +53%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +14% to +102% | 57 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #150 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −4%review growth against same-age games | −12% to +6% | 57 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,001 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 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
- 88
- Hit rate
- 23.9%19.6% to 30.3%
- Expected rate
- 16.6%
- Against expected
- 1.36x1.03x to 1.77x
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
88 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
- $115
- Median
- $6,191
- Top tenth
- $765,283
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
- −17%
- Against Steam
- −38%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- BuildingGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Colony SimGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
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.
- Norland (opens the Steam store)2024 · 8,941 reviews, 81% positiveest. $5M
- Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 10,692 reviews, 92% positiveest. $4.2M
- Stronghold: Definitive Edition (opens the Steam store)2023 · 9,800 reviews, 86% positiveest. $2.9M
- The Crust (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,764 reviews, 75% positiveest. $2.4M
- Cataclismo (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,897 reviews, 88% positiveest. $2.2M
- Mind Over Magic (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,325 reviews, 86% positiveest. $1.9M
- Whiskerwood (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,363 reviews, 92% positiveest. $1.9M
- Ratopia (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,650 reviews, 87% positiveest. $1.8M
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 + 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
- Building + First-Person$7,38241 launches priced, 60 releases in 12 months
More with Colony Sim
pairs with Colony Sim- Base Building + Colony Sim$22,86553 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- Management + Colony Sim$15,78739 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Colony Sim$10,01834 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Survival + Colony Sim$9,88130 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
- City Builder + Colony Sim$5,26265 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Colony Sim$5,09263 launches priced, 118 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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