Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Strategy + Automation: a typical launch earns $3,213 in its first year

That is the median of 55 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 20 of 138 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 10.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 203% on the year before: 191 against 63.

Price: $3,213
Price vs a year earlier: −44.3%
Releases, 12 months: 191
Upcoming games: 492
Games on the store: 914

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 + Automation 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.	0.22%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.17% to 0.27%	40 ranked of 492 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#975 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.71xhits against expected	1.28x to 2.29x	138 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#369 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−60%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−68% to −50%	43 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,344 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−16%review growth against same-age games	−23% to −8%	43 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,486 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: 20
Expected: 10.4

Launches: 138
Hit rate: 14.5%8.9% to 25.8%
Expected rate: 7.5%
Against expected: 1.71x1.28x to 2.29x

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

138 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: $121
Median: $2,261
Top tenth: $134,970

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: 191
Prior 12 months: 63

Change: +203%
Against Steam: +112%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

StrategyGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
AutomationGenre 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 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 Automation

pairs with Automation

Base Building + Automation$14,08239 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
Resource Management + Automation$12,44539 launches priced, 152 releases in 12 months
Building + Automation$8,28246 launches priced, 101 releases in 12 months
Crafting + Automation$6,72240 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Automation$5,42078 launches priced, 298 releases in 12 months
Management + Automation$5,42060 launches priced, 182 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Automation

Verdicts

in development

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