Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Casual / Time Management
Casual + Time Management: a typical launch earns $505 in its first year
That is the median of 194 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 16 of 407 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 20.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 67% on the year before: 378 against 227.
- Price
- $505 median of 194 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +18.9% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 378 227 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 639 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,963 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. | 0.20%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.12% to 0.30% | 35 ranked of 639 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,061 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 0.80xhits against expected | 0.58x to 1.13x | 407 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,073 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −26%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −36% to −13% | 46 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,108 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −10%review growth against same-age games | −16% to 0% | 46 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,287 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
- 407
- Hit rate
- 3.9%2.3% to 6.4%
- Expected rate
- 5.1%
- Against expected
- 0.80x0.58x to 1.13x
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
407 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
- $424
- Top tenth
- $14,813
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
- +67%
- Against Steam
- +22%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- CasualNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Time ManagementGenre 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.
- Farm Together 2 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,484 reviews, 93% positiveest. $2.2M
- Trash Goblin (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,578 reviews, 87% positiveest. $639k
- Matchmaking Inc. (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,797 reviews, 87% positiveest. $596k
- BOMBANANA! (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,993 reviews, 96% positiveest. $446k
- Papa's Pizzeria Deluxe (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,465 reviews, 98% positiveest. $420k
- Galacticare (opens the Steam store)2024 · 601 reviews, 85% positiveest. $365k
- Mini Airways - ATC simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,351 reviews, 92% positiveest. $273k
- Supermarket & Internet Cafe Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 846 reviews, 79% positiveest. $257k
More with Casual
pairs with Casual- Casual + Job Simulator$8,44230 launches priced, 54 releases in 12 months
- Casual + LGBTQ+$4,15442 launches priced, 95 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Romance$2,61486 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Economy$2,204112 launches priced, 302 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Online Co-Op$1,970104 launches priced, 272 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Capitalism$1,92351 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months
More with Time Management
pairs with Time Management- Management + Time Management$4,513108 launches priced, 174 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + Time Management$4,50230 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Time Management$3,82249 launches priced, 106 releases in 12 months
- Life Sim + Time Management$3,64385 launches priced, 143 releases in 12 months
- Building + Time Management$2,83132 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
- Cooking + Time Management$2,66937 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.