Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Strategy + 2D: a typical launch earns $303 in its first year

That is the median of 908 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 57 of 1,859 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 84.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 77% on the year before: 1,924 against 1,087.

Price: $303
Price vs a year earlier: +24.9%
Releases, 12 months: 1,924
Upcoming games: 3,570
Games on the store: 9,804

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.

Strategy + 2D 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.	0.85%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.63% to 1.16%	114 ranked of 3,573 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#277 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	0.69xhits against expected	0.56x to 0.84x	1,859 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#4,797 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−33%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−40% to −24%	194 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,206 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−13%review growth against same-age games	−21% to −6%	194 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,414 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: 57
Expected: 84.1

Launches: 1,859
Hit rate: 3.1%2.4% to 5.1%
Expected rate: 4.5%
Against expected: 0.69x0.56x to 0.84x

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

1,859 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: $283
Top tenth: $16,215

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: 1,924
Prior 12 months: 1,087

Change: +77%
Against Steam: +31%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

StrategyGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
2DNot 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 Strategy

pairs with Strategy

Strategy + Roguelike Deckbuilder$8,599104 launches priced, 217 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Base Building$6,139160 launches priced, 260 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Turn-Based$5,85566 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Historical$4,25980 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Party-Based RPG$3,88255 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Story Rich$3,64284 launches priced, 149 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Strategy

More with 2D

pairs with 2D

2D + Roguelike Deckbuilder$6,77234 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
2D + Romance$3,28176 launches priced, 110 releases in 12 months
War + 2D$3,16035 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
2D + Dating Sim$2,55991 launches priced, 116 releases in 12 months
2D + LGBTQ+$2,46550 launches priced, 85 releases in 12 months
2D + Historical$2,32474 launches priced, 130 releases in 12 months

Every pair with 2D

Verdicts

in development

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