Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Open World + Story Rich: a typical launch earns $4,047 in its first year

That is the median of 36 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 18 of 87 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 12.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 42% on the year before: 71 against 50.

Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese

Price: $4,047
Price vs a year earlier: −73.7%
Releases, 12 months: 71
Upcoming games: 315
Games on the store: 735

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 + Story Rich 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.	1.02%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.62% to 1.51%	71 ranked of 315 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#222 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games Listed after unflagged rows on this board	1.39xhits against expected	1.03x to 1.85x	87 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#5,900 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+17%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−12% to +57%	62 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#842 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+20%review growth against same-age games	+5% to +37%	62 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#37 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: 18
Expected: 12.1

Launches: 87
Hit rate: 20.7%13.4% to 31.6%
Expected rate: 14.0%
Against expected: 1.39x1.03x to 1.85x

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

87 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: $154
Median: $4,209
Top tenth: $430,052

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: 71
Prior 12 months: 50

Change: +42%
Against Steam: +2%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.
Story RichNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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 Story Rich

pairs with Story Rich

Story Rich + Narrative$13,10440 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Historical$9,68533 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Investigation$8,90370 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Turn-Based Strategy + Story Rich$8,09741 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Supernatural$5,82533 launches priced, 45 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Dating Sim$5,71476 launches priced, 97 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Story Rich

Verdicts

in development

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