Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Open World + Sandbox: a typical launch earns $5,607 in its first year

That is the median of 105 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 55 of 215 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 30.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 37% on the year before: 162 against 118.

Price: $5,607
Price vs a year earlier: −51.1%
Releases, 12 months: 162
Upcoming games: 688
Games on the store: 1,683

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 + Sandbox 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. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	5.85%share of upcoming wishlist heat	1.93% to 12.85%	152 ranked of 688 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#3,879 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.75xhits against expected	1.45x to 2.08x	215 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#332 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure	−3%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−24% to +18%	126 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,533 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	−2%review growth against same-age games	−10% to +6%	126 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#2,141 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: 55
Expected: 30.2

Launches: 215
Hit rate: 25.6%21.6% to 33.7%
Expected rate: 14.0%
Against expected: 1.75x1.45x to 2.08x

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

215 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: $109
Median: $8,234
Top tenth: $741,427

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: 162
Prior 12 months: 118

Change: +37%
Against Steam: 0%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.
SandboxGenre 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 + Life Sim$13,38736 launches priced, 39 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

Every pair with Open World

More with Sandbox

pairs with Sandbox

Sandbox + Multiplayer$32,53338 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Resource Management$18,39749 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Economy$15,26966 launches priced, 136 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Management$11,910116 launches priced, 204 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + City Builder$11,53977 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Colony Sim$10,01834 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Sandbox

Verdicts

in development

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