Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Strategy + Tactical: a typical launch earns $607 in its first year
That is the median of 149 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 31 of 338 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 28.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 80% on the year before: 338 against 188.
- Price
- $607 median of 149 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −61.0% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 338 188 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 842 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 2,364 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. | 0.61%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.44% to 0.76% | 71 ranked of 844 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #389 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.07xhits against expected | 0.83x to 1.38x | 338 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,397 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −26%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −37% to −12% | 93 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,105 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −2%review growth against same-age games | −11% to +8% | 93 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,124 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
- 338
- Hit rate
- 9.4%7.4% to 16.0%
- Expected rate
- 8.5%
- Against expected
- 1.07x0.83x to 1.38x
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
339 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
- $810
- Top tenth
- $92,943
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
- +80%
- Against Steam
- +32%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
- Terra Invicta (opens the Steam store)2026 · 9,088 reviews, 79% positiveest. $7M
- Backpack Battles (opens the Steam store)2024 · 18,970 reviews, 91% positiveest. $4.8M
- Master of Command (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,876 reviews, 92% positiveest. $2.3M
- Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,103 reviews, 52% positiveest. $1.7M
- Tower Dominion (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,154 reviews, 85% positiveest. $1.7M
- Esports Manager 2026 (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,957 reviews, 73% positiveest. $1.5M
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 Tactical
pairs with Tactical- Tactical + Turn-Based Tactics$2,18357 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
- Tactical + Turn-Based Strategy$2,18353 launches priced, 107 releases in 12 months
- Tactical + 3D$1,06236 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Tactical + Wargame$92731 launches priced, 50 releases in 12 months
- Action + Tactical$53646 launches priced, 107 releases in 12 months
- Tactical + Real Time Tactics$30431 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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