Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
RTS + War: a typical launch earns $4,486 in its first year
That is the median of 34 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 9 of 55 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.0 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases fell 5% on the year before: 38 against 40.
- Price
- $4,486 median of 34 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +1009.9% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 38 40 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 134 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 435 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.
| 1.33%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.32% to 2.91% | 28 ranked of 134 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,192 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.34xhits against expected | 0.93x to 1.93x | 55 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,208 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| +37%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −6% to +88% | 29 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #342 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 | −12% to +9% | 29 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,206 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
- 55
- Hit rate
- 16.4%6.8% to 30.6%
- Expected rate
- 10.9%
- Against expected
- 1.34x0.93x to 1.93x
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
55 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
- $63
- Median
- $3,739
- Top tenth
- $148,982
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
- −5%
- Against Steam
- −29%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
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.
- Tempest Rising (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,865 reviews, 87% positiveest. $7.6M
- Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition (opens the Steam store)2025 · 10,692 reviews, 92% positiveest. $4.2M
- Master of Command (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,876 reviews, 92% positiveest. $2.3M
- Tabletop Tavern (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,096 reviews, 89% positiveest. $848k
- Creeper World IXE (opens the Steam store)2024 · 858 reviews, 69% positiveest. $347k
- Annihilate The Spance (opens the Steam store)2025 · 348 reviews, 89% positiveest. $211k
- Rise of Piracy (opens the Steam store)2026 · 522 reviews, 77% positiveest. $169k
- Strategos (opens the Steam store)2026 · 235 reviews, 85% positiveest. $119k
More with RTS
pairs with RTS- RTS + Base Building$13,91454 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Wargame$3,54550 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Roguelite$3,51736 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Building + RTS$3,03535 launches priced, 34 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Roguelike$3,03133 launches priced, 40 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Grand Strategy$2,63033 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
More with War
pairs with War- War + Historical$4,39930 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
- War + Turn-Based Tactics$4,30130 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
- War + Turn-Based Strategy$3,84640 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- War + 2D$3,16035 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + War$2,942102 launches priced, 126 releases in 12 months
- War + Real Time Tactics$2,22531 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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