Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Economy / Time Management
Economy + Time Management: a typical launch earns $3,822 in its first year
That is the median of 49 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 16 of 112 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 9.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 86% on the year before: 106 against 57.
- Price
- $3,822 median of 49 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −21.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 106 57 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 243 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 513 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. | 0.10%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.07% to 0.13% | 12 ranked of 243 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,733 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.50xhits against expected | 1.09x to 2.06x | 112 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #729 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −24%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −42% to 0% | 24 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,070 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +1%review growth against same-age games | −13% to +16% | 24 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,926 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
- 112
- Hit rate
- 14.3%9.4% to 23.2%
- Expected rate
- 8.6%
- Against expected
- 1.50x1.09x to 2.06x
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
112 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
- $81
- Median
- $3,136
- Top tenth
- $136,942
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
- +86%
- Against Steam
- +32%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- EconomyNot 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.
- Farming Simulator 25 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 40,166 reviews, 87% positiveest. $24M
- News Tower (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,328 reviews, 93% positiveest. $2.1M
- Esports Manager 2026 (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,957 reviews, 73% positiveest. $1.5M
- Recycling Center Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,600 reviews, 84% positiveest. $1.1M
- Car Manufacture (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,397 reviews, 66% positiveest. $566k
- Laundry Store Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,813 reviews, 89% positiveest. $440k
- Coal LLC (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,350 reviews, 92% positiveest. $410k
- Movies Tycoon (opens the Steam store)2024 · 548 reviews, 70% positiveest. $333k
More with Economy
pairs with Economy- Trading + Economy$24,39844 launches priced, 105 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Economy$15,26966 launches priced, 136 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Shop Keeper$15,12233 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Life Sim$15,00083 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Immersive Sim$14,95288 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
- Realistic + Economy$10,95531 launches priced, 37 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
- 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
- Sandbox + Time Management$2,63045 launches priced, 84 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.