Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Sandbox / Collectathon
Sandbox + Collectathon: a typical launch earns $363 in its first year
That is the median of 31 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 3 of 67 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 124% on the year before: 83 against 37.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $363 median of 31 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −73.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 83 37 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 134 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 324 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.
| 0.11%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.04% to 0.20% | 11 ranked of 134 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #5,539 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.96xhits against expected | 0.67x to 1.62x | 67 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,067 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
- 67
- Hit rate
- 4.5%1.5% to 11.5%
- Expected rate
- 4.9%
- Against expected
- 0.96x0.67x to 1.62x
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
67 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
- $20
- Median
- $364
- Top tenth
- $48,279
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
- +124%
Parent tags
- SandboxGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- CollectathonNot 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.
- Squirrel with a Gun (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,120 reviews, 86% positiveest. $1.3M
- Astronomics (opens the Steam store)2025 · 710 reviews, 89% positiveest. $287k
- Mr. Sleepy Man (opens the Steam store)2026 · 646 reviews, 98% positiveest. $261k
- Sort Them Ducks (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,644 reviews, 92% positiveest. $199k
- Osta (opens the Steam store)2026 · 360 reviews, 88% positiveest. $102k
- Super Mining Mechs (opens the Steam store)2024 · 848 reviews, 86% positiveest. $86k
- Gamer Stop Simulator (opens the Steam store)2026 · 270 reviews, 70% positiveest. $71k
- GeckoShop (opens the Steam store)2025 · 342 reviews, 66% positiveest. $69k
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
More with Collectathon
pairs with Collectathon- Collectathon + Cozy$5,08330 launches priced, 84 releases in 12 months
- Collectathon + Creature Collector$1,98356 launches priced, 94 releases in 12 months
- Pixel Graphics + Collectathon$1,85847 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
- Relaxing + Collectathon$1,84084 launches priced, 182 releases in 12 months
- Collectathon + Idler$1,77756 launches priced, 144 releases in 12 months
- Collectathon + Incremental$1,13151 launches priced, 139 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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