Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Strategy + RPG: a typical launch earns $902 in its first year
That is the median of 385 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 72 of 787 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 64.6 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 32% on the year before: 689 against 522.
- China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese
- Price
- $902 median of 385 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −25.7% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 689 522 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 2,155 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 6,046 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. | 1.75%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.96% to 2.63% | 160 ranked of 2,155 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #132 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 1.11xhits against expected | 0.93x to 1.32x | 787 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #5,998 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −7%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −16% to +4% | 203 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,642 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −9%review growth against same-age games | −16% to −2% | 203 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,250 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
- 787
- Hit rate
- 9.1%5.9% to 14.6%
- Expected rate
- 8.2%
- Against expected
- 1.11x0.93x to 1.32x
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
787 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
- $0
- Median
- $864
- Top tenth
- $82,506
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
- +32%
- Against Steam
- −2%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
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.
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era (opens the Steam store)2026 · 19,441 reviews, 86% positiveest. $15M
MENACE (opens the Steam store)2026 · 12,364 reviews, 90% positiveest. $9.8M
Sultan's Game (opens the Steam store)2025 · 25,110 reviews, 93% positiveest. $7.8M
For The King II (opens the Steam store)2023 · 12,765 reviews, 71% positiveest. $5.6M
Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition (opens the Steam store)2026 · 6,025 reviews, 86% positiveest. $4.9M
Revenge on gold diggers (opens the Steam store)2025 · 46,611 reviews, 80% positiveest. $3.7M
UFO 50 (opens the Steam store)2024 · 7,144 reviews, 94% positiveest. $3.6M
Quasimorph (opens the Steam store)2023 · 7,257 reviews, 82% positiveest. $3.6M
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
More with RPG
pairs with RPG- RPG + FMV$25,57938 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Base Building$17,28632 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Farming Sim$8,78948 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Difficult$8,09240 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Resource Management$8,05030 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Dating Sim$6,63993 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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