Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Strategy + War: a typical launch earns $2,942 in its first year

That is the median of 102 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 19 of 169 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 19.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 3% on the year before: 126 against 122.

Price: $2,942
Price vs a year earlier: +303.9%
Releases, 12 months: 126
Upcoming games: 371
Games on the store: 1,198

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 + War 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.	2.64%share of upcoming wishlist heat	1.00% to 4.46%	52 ranked of 372 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#79 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games	0.98xhits against expected	0.73x to 1.33x	169 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#2,875 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	+51%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	+23% to +87%	60 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#175 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	+15%review growth against same-age games	0% to +27%	60 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#120 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: 19
Expected: 19.3

Launches: 169
Hit rate: 11.8%7.4% to 17.4%
Expected rate: 11.5%
Against expected: 0.98x0.73x to 1.33x

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

170 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: $61
Median: $2,155
Top tenth: $118,584

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: 126
Prior 12 months: 122

Change: +3%
Against Steam: −24%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

StrategyGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
WarNot 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 War

pairs with War

RTS + War$4,48634 launches priced, 38 releases in 12 months
War + Historical$4,39930 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
War + Turn-Based Tactics$4,30130 launches priced, 35 releases in 12 months
War + Turn-Based Strategy$3,84640 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
War + 2D$3,16035 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
War + Real Time Tactics$2,22531 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months

Every pair with War

Verdicts

in development

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