Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Puzzle / Automation
Puzzle + Automation: 49 releases in the last 12 months
There is no price yet: it needs 30 or more indie paid launches in the last four complete quarters. 4 of 53 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 75% on the year before: 49 against 28.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 49 28 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 96 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 277 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. | 0.04%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.03% to 0.06% | 9 ranked of 96 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,779 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.95xhits against expected | 0.66x to 1.55x | 53 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,076 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
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
- 53
- Hit rate
- 7.5%1.6% to 17.3%
- Expected rate
- 8.2%
- Against expected
- 0.95x0.66x to 1.55x
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
53 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
- $129
- Median
- $2,408
- Top tenth
- $51,661
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
- +75%
Parent tags
- PuzzleGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- AutomationGenre 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.
- shapez 2 - Factory (opens the Steam store)2024 · 13,937 reviews, 96% positiveest. $8.1M
- Kaizen: A Factory Story (opens the Steam store)2025 · 695 reviews, 91% positiveest. $281k
- Craftomation 101: Programming & Craft (opens the Steam store)2024 · 672 reviews, 83% positiveest. $204k
- MoteMancer (opens the Steam store)2025 · 246 reviews, 91% positiveest. $149k
- JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 382 reviews, 76% positiveest. $139k
- Craftlings (opens the Steam store)2026 · 313 reviews, 86% positiveest. $127k
- Tunnet (opens the Steam store)2023 · 706 reviews, 94% positiveest. $86k
- Super Loco World - Cozy Train Automation (opens the Steam store)2025 · 335 reviews, 75% positiveest. $68k
More with Puzzle
pairs with Puzzle- Puzzle + Open World$3,68033 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
- Metroidvania + Puzzle$2,32437 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Visual Novel$2,10397 launches priced, 167 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Story Rich$2,000292 launches priced, 408 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Co-op$1,92037 launches priced, 77 releases in 12 months
- Puzzle + Dark Humor$1,87830 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
More with Automation
pairs with Automation- Base Building + Automation$14,08239 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
- Resource Management + Automation$12,44539 launches priced, 152 releases in 12 months
- Building + Automation$8,28246 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + Automation$6,72240 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Automation$5,42078 launches priced, 298 releases in 12 months
- Management + Automation$5,42060 launches priced, 182 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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