Simulation + Resource Management: a typical launch earns $3,398 in its first year

That is the median of 159 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 53 of 338 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 31.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 159% on the year before: 448 against 173.

Price: $3,398
Price vs a year earlier: −47.3%
Releases, 12 months: 448
Upcoming games: 1,175
Games on the store: 2,348

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.

Simulation + Resource 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.	0.94%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.65% to 1.38%	112 ranked of 1,175 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#240 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.64xhits against expected	1.34x to 1.99x	338 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#473 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−55%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−61% to −48%	127 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,335 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−15%review growth against same-age games	−22% to −9%	127 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,476 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: 53
Expected: 31.2

Launches: 338
Hit rate: 15.7%10.5% to 24.2%
Expected rate: 9.2%
Against expected: 1.64x1.34x to 1.99x

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

338 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: $61
Median: $2,974
Top tenth: $177,822

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: 448
Prior 12 months: 173

Change: +159%
Against Steam: +88%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Resource ManagementNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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 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

Every pair with Simulation

More with Resource Management

pairs with Resource Management

Sandbox + Resource Management$18,39749 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Resource Management + Automation$12,44539 launches priced, 152 releases in 12 months
Crafting + Resource Management$9,79344 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
City Builder + Resource Management$8,36456 launches priced, 73 releases in 12 months
RPG + Resource Management$8,05030 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
Building + Resource Management$6,54574 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Resource Management

Verdicts

in development

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