Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / RPG / Base Building
RPG + Base Building: a typical launch earns $17,286 in its first year
That is the median of 32 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 15 of 65 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 9.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 40% on the year before: 49 against 35.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- Price
- $17,286 median of 32 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +238.6% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 49 35 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 242 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 479 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. | 0.49%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.22% to 0.79% | 38 ranked of 242 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #486 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.41xhits against expected | 1.03x to 1.90x | 65 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #966 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +3%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −30% to +45% | 27 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,356 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| +2%review growth against same-age games | −9% to +13% | 27 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,861 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
- 65
- Hit rate
- 23.1%15.4% to 32.9%
- Expected rate
- 15.0%
- Against expected
- 1.41x1.03x to 1.90x
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
65 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
- $227
- Median
- $8,255
- Top tenth
- $394,212
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
- +40%
- Against Steam
- 0%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- RPGGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Base BuildingNot 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.
- Enshrouded (opens the Steam store)2024 · 93,740 reviews, 85% positiveest. $73M
- Pax Dei (opens the Steam store)2025 · 7,185 reviews, 56% positiveest. $4.4M
- Cubic Odyssey (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,407 reviews, 74% positiveest. $1.2M
- Towers of Aghasba (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,905 reviews, 67% positiveest. $1.2M
- Romestead (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,722 reviews, 76% positiveest. $1.1M
- House of Legacy (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,277 reviews, 84% positiveest. $750k
- Robin Hood - Sherwood Builders (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,025 reviews, 68% positiveest. $622k
- Dread Dawn (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,114 reviews, 71% positiveest. $616k
More with RPG
pairs with RPG- RPG + FMV$25,57938 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Farming Sim$8,78948 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Difficult$8,09240 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Resource Management$8,05030 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Dating Sim$6,63993 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Management$6,19747 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
More with Base Building
pairs with Base Building- Base Building + Colony Sim$22,86553 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- Base Building + Automation$14,08239 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Base Building$13,91454 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- Base Building + Management$12,38472 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
- City Builder + Base Building$11,53773 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
- Crafting + Base Building$8,90179 launches priced, 125 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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