Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Sandbox + Automation: a typical launch earns $2,661 in its first year

That is the median of 38 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 20 of 91 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 10.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 140% on the year before: 103 against 43.

Price: $2,661
Price vs a year earlier: −89.6%
Releases, 12 months: 103
Upcoming games: 269
Games on the store: 567

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.

Sandbox + Automation 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.	0.27%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.19% to 0.32%	41 ranked of 269 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#845 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.68xhits against expected	1.27x to 2.21x	91 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#409 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−50%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−63% to −36%	47 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,316 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−17%review growth against same-age games	−27% to −8%	47 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,511 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: 20
Expected: 10.7

Launches: 91
Hit rate: 22.0%12.2% to 29.2%
Expected rate: 11.7%
Against expected: 1.68x1.27x to 2.21x

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

91 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: $202
Median: $3,256
Top tenth: $565,502

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: 103
Prior 12 months: 43

Change: +140%
Against Steam: +66%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SandboxGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
AutomationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best 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 Sandbox

pairs with Sandbox

Sandbox + Multiplayer$32,53338 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Resource Management$18,39749 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Economy$15,26966 launches priced, 136 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Management$11,910116 launches priced, 204 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + City Builder$11,53977 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Colony Sim$10,01834 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Sandbox

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

Every pair with Automation

Verdicts

in development

GMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.