Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Open World + Life Sim: a typical launch earns $13,387 in its first year

That is the median of 36 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 22 of 77 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 10.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 7% on the year before: 39 against 42.

Price: $13,387
Price vs a year earlier: −40.0%
Releases, 12 months: 39
Upcoming games: 171
Games on the store: 385

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.

Open World + Life Sim 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.	0.42%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.21% to 0.68%	31 ranked of 171 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#559 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.88xhits against expected	1.44x to 2.41x	77 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#228 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+55%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+21% to +124%	42 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#139 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+7%review growth against same-age games	−2% to +17%	42 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#455 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: 22
Expected: 10.3

Launches: 77
Hit rate: 28.6%17.3% to 41.2%
Expected rate: 13.3%
Against expected: 1.88x1.44x to 2.41x

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

77 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: $239
Median: $14,794
Top tenth: $748,242

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: 39
Prior 12 months: 42

Change: −7%
Against Steam: −31%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

Open WorldNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
Life SimGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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 Open World

pairs with Open World

Open World + Multiplayer$15,60236 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
Open World + Open World Survival Craft$14,79431 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
Open World + Crafting$7,48760 launches priced, 105 releases in 12 months
Driving + Open World$6,51131 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
Building + Open World$5,98741 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
Open World + Cute$5,88634 launches priced, 33 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Open World

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
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
Crafting + Life Sim$8,45137 launches priced, 65 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Life Sim

Verdicts

in development

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