Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Simulation + RTS: a typical launch earns $594 in its first year

That is the median of 60 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 17 of 113 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 12.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 42% on the year before: 108 against 76.

Price: $594
Price vs a year earlier: −77.4%
Releases, 12 months: 108
Upcoming games: 291
Games on the store: 851

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 + RTS 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.	0.44%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.20% to 0.71%	34 ranked of 292 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#542 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.28xhits against expected	0.94x to 1.73x	113 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,440 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure	−1%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−24% to +23%	41 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,472 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	+2%review growth against same-age games	−9% to +17%	41 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,868 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: 17
Expected: 12.7

Launches: 113
Hit rate: 15.0%7.7% to 25.5%
Expected rate: 11.2%
Against expected: 1.28x0.94x to 1.73x

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

113 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: $0
Median: $970
Top tenth: $152,332

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: 108
Prior 12 months: 76

Change: +42%
Against Steam: +3%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
RTSGenre 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 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 RTS

pairs with RTS

RTS + Base Building$13,91454 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
RTS + War$4,48634 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
RTS + Wargame$3,54550 launches priced, 91 releases in 12 months
RTS + Roguelite$3,51736 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Building + RTS$3,03535 launches priced, 34 releases in 12 months
RTS + Roguelike$3,03133 launches priced, 40 releases in 12 months

Every pair with RTS

Verdicts

in development

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