Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Simulation / Capitalism
Simulation + Capitalism: a typical launch earns $2,913 in its first year
That is the median of 93 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 25 of 200 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 14.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 97% on the year before: 231 against 117.
- Price
- $2,913 median of 93 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −46.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 231 117 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 451 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 964 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. | 0.26%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.16% to 0.42% | 27 ranked of 451 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #862 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.58xhits against expected | 1.20x to 2.07x | 200 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #589 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 | −48% to −26% | 38 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,254 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −12%review growth against same-age games | −20% to −3% | 38 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,365 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
- 200
- Hit rate
- 12.1%6.2% to 19.6%
- Expected rate
- 7.4%
- Against expected
- 1.58x1.20x to 2.07x
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
199 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
- $81
- Median
- $2,869
- Top tenth
- $111,311
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
- +97%
- Against Steam
- +41%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- CapitalismNot 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.
- TCG Card Shop Simulator (opens the Steam store)2024 · 47,849 reviews, 96% positiveest. $19M
- Waterpark Simulator (opens the Steam store)2026 · 13,520 reviews, 96% positiveest. $3.5M
- Mall Simulator (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,159 reviews, 82% positiveest. $895k
- The Walking Trade (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,801 reviews, 86% positiveest. $680k
- Football Life Simulator (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,573 reviews, 67% positiveest. $637k
- Bookshop Simulator (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,530 reviews, 92% positiveest. $619k
- Ale Abbey - Monastery Brewery Tycoon (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,286 reviews, 88% positiveest. $390k
- Storage Hustle (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,516 reviews, 70% positiveest. $368k
More with Simulation
pairs with Simulation- Simulation + Shop Keeper$32,26936 launches priced, 330 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Cozy$15,70676 launches priced, 253 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Online Co-Op$11,02868 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Multiplayer$8,980122 launches priced, 253 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Base Building$7,38289 launches priced, 173 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Economy$6,979210 launches priced, 540 releases in 12 months
More with Capitalism
pairs with Capitalism- Capitalism + Immersive Sim$16,42037 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- Capitalism + Management$13,15777 launches priced, 165 releases in 12 months
- Capitalism + Life Sim$9,99633 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Economy + Capitalism$4,63186 launches priced, 205 releases in 12 months
- Casual + Capitalism$1,92351 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Capitalism$1,31543 launches priced, 137 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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