Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Immersive Sim / Life Sim
Immersive Sim + Life Sim: a typical launch earns $3,154 in its first year
That is the median of 183 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 48 of 348 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 26.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 18% on the year before: 265 against 224.
- Price
- $3,154 median of 183 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −8.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 265 224 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 717 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,540 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.
| 1.99%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.63% to 3.46% | 85 ranked of 717 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,019 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.73xhits against expected | 1.41x to 2.12x | 348 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #351 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +4%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −12% to +24% | 93 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,303 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 | −18% to −4% | 93 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,313 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
- 348
- Hit rate
- 13.8%8.8% to 23.8%
- Expected rate
- 7.6%
- Against expected
- 1.73x1.41x to 2.12x
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
348 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
- $3,642
- Top tenth
- $143,045
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
- +18%
- Against Steam
- −14%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Immersive SimGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Life 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.
- Supermarket Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 79,411 reviews, 92% positiveest. $32M
- Car Dealer Simulator (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,993 reviews, 88% positiveest. $4M
- Cash Cleaner Simulator (opens the Steam store)2025 · 7,368 reviews, 92% positiveest. $2.9M
- Streamer Life Simulator 2 (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,768 reviews, 81% positiveest. $2.7M
- ANEURISM IV (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,713 reviews, 75% positiveest. $1.2M
- Recycling Center Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,600 reviews, 84% positiveest. $1.1M
- School Days (opens the Steam store)2026 · 6,049 reviews, 77% positiveest. $1M
- Parcel Simulator (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,815 reviews, 93% positiveest. $1M
More with Immersive Sim
pairs with Immersive Sim- Cinematic + Immersive Sim$24,23132 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
- Capitalism + Immersive Sim$16,42037 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- Multiplayer + Immersive Sim$15,00039 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Immersive Sim$14,95288 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
- Immersive Sim + Management$8,720136 launches priced, 195 releases in 12 months
- Building + Immersive Sim$7,64451 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
More with Life Sim
pairs with Life Sim- Life Sim + Cozy$34,02737 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Life Sim$15,00083 launches priced, 128 releases in 12 months
- Open World + Life Sim$13,38736 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
- Building + Life Sim$12,54245 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- Life Sim + Management$9,996139 launches priced, 204 releases in 12 months
- Capitalism + Life Sim$9,99633 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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