Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Simulation + Sci-fi: a typical launch earns $808 in its first year

That is the median of 62 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 121 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 8.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 70% on the year before: 119 against 70.

One game dominates the figure

Price: $808
Price vs a year earlier: −55.6%
Releases, 12 months: 119
Upcoming games: 402
Games on the store: 1,062

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 + Sci-fi 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.	0.79%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.50% to 1.18%	55 ranked of 402 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#303 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. One game dominates the figure	0.78xhits against expected	0.53x to 1.24x	121 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#4,226 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−4%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−26% to +21%	30 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,565 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+17%review growth against same-age games	+6% to +30%	30 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#67 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: 6
Expected: 8.5

Launches: 121
Hit rate: 5.0%1.4% to 9.7%
Expected rate: 7.0%
Against expected: 0.78x0.53x to 1.24x

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

121 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: $909
Top tenth: $37,640

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: 119
Prior 12 months: 70

Change: +70%
Against Steam: +22%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Sci-fiNot 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 Sci-fi

pairs with Sci-fi

Sci-fi + Anime$4,24936 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Sci-fi + Cyberpunk$3,08346 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
Sci-fi + Cute$1,80330 launches priced, 31 releases in 12 months
Story Rich + Sci-fi$1,61786 launches priced, 117 releases in 12 months
RPG + Sci-fi$1,61665 launches priced, 76 releases in 12 months
Exploration + Sci-fi$1,457125 launches priced, 163 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Sci-fi

Verdicts

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