Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Sandbox + Management: a typical launch earns $11,910 in its first year

That is the median of 116 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 63 of 245 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 33.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 53% on the year before: 204 against 133.

Price: $11,910
Price vs a year earlier: −16.6%
Releases, 12 months: 204
Upcoming games: 636
Games on the store: 1,450

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 + Management 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.	1.34%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.83% to 2.10%	93 ranked of 636 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#177 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.81xhits against expected	1.52x to 2.14x	245 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#282 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−18%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−31% to −3%	124 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,942 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−9%review growth against same-age games	−16% to +1%	124 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,269 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: 63
Expected: 33.4

Launches: 245
Hit rate: 25.4%19.2% to 34.4%
Expected rate: 13.6%
Against expected: 1.81x1.52x to 2.14x

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

244 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: $261
Median: $9,916
Top tenth: $721,805

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: 204
Prior 12 months: 133

Change: +53%
Against Steam: +11%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SandboxGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
ManagementGenre 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 + City Builder$11,53977 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Colony Sim$10,01834 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Cozy$8,90137 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Sandbox

More with Management

pairs with Management

Management + Shop Keeper$31,61235 launches priced, 187 releases in 12 months
Trading + Management$22,06052 launches priced, 89 releases in 12 months
Multiplayer + Management$19,88833 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
Management + Colony Sim$15,78739 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
Realistic + Management$13,70546 launches priced, 74 releases in 12 months
Capitalism + Management$13,15777 launches priced, 165 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Management

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.