Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Relaxing / Open World
Relaxing + Open World: a typical launch earns $3,439 in its first year
That is the median of 45 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 13 of 88 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 12% on the year before: 56 against 50.
- Price
- $3,439 median of 45 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −52.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 56 50 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 195 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 509 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.
| 2.45%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.33% to 5.82% | 41 ranked of 195 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #3,965 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.39xhits against expected | 0.99x to 1.94x | 88 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,028 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +26%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −5% to +79% | 44 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #602 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +3%review growth against same-age games | −10% to +13% | 44 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #688 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
- 88
- Hit rate
- 14.8%9.6% to 27.1%
- Expected rate
- 9.7%
- Against expected
- 1.39x0.99x to 1.94x
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
88 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
- $224
- Median
- $3,591
- Top tenth
- $292,136
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
- +12%
- Against Steam
- −18%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- RelaxingNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- Open WorldNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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.
- Paralives (opens the Steam store)2026 · 20,301 reviews, 89% positiveest. $16M
- Big Walk (opens the Steam store)2026 · 35,314 reviews, 96% positiveest. $14M
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,691 reviews, 93% positiveest. $7.7M
- Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,457 reviews, 62% positiveest. $2.6M
- Easy Delivery Co. (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,616 reviews, 95% positiveest. $2.5M
- Star Trucker (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,943 reviews, 77% positiveest. $2.5M
- Lightyear Frontier (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,280 reviews, 83% positiveest. $2.2M
- Loddlenaut (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,871 reviews, 98% positiveest. $1.6M
More with Relaxing
pairs with Relaxing- Relaxing + Economy$7,82849 launches priced, 115 releases in 12 months
- Building + Relaxing$3,39787 launches priced, 134 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Management$3,154101 launches priced, 233 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Farming Sim$2,87450 launches priced, 106 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Crafting$2,42950 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Emotional$2,34736 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
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
Verdicts
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