Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Simulation / Transportation
Simulation + Transportation: a typical launch earns $1,695 in its first year
That is the median of 35 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 8 of 61 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 7.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 42% on the year before: 54 against 38.
- Price
- $1,695 median of 35 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −86.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 54 38 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 160 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 395 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.
| 0.48%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.20% to 0.83% | 29 ranked of 160 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,534 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.08xhits against expected | 0.74x to 1.60x | 61 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,346 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −9%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −40% to +29% | 33 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,723 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 | −32% to +7% | 33 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,436 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
- 61
- Hit rate
- 13.1%8.0% to 28.0%
- Expected rate
- 11.8%
- Against expected
- 1.08x0.74x to 1.60x
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
61 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
- $3,035
- Top tenth
- $144,500
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
- +42%
- Against Steam
- −3%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- TransportationNot 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.
- Star Trucker (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,943 reviews, 77% positiveest. $2.5M
- Train Sim World® 5 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,038 reviews, 80% positiveest. $2.3M
- Railroader (opens the Steam store)2023 · 3,357 reviews, 96% positiveest. $2M
- Aviassembly (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,383 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.9M
- Seafarer: The Ship Sim (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,992 reviews, 64% positiveest. $1M
- RUNNING TRAIN | 走ル列車! (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,643 reviews, 97% positiveest. $665k
- Bus Bound (opens the Steam store)2026 · 891 reviews, 72% positiveest. $541k
- City Transport Simulator 2026 - Bus & Tram (opens the Steam store)2026 · 543 reviews, 72% positiveest. $440k
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 Transportation
pairs with Transportation- Casual + Transportationno price34 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Transportationno price31 releases in 12 months
- Transportation + Managementno price29 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Transportationno price21 releases in 12 months
- Immersive Sim + Transportationno price21 releases in 12 months
- Building + Transportationno price20 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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