Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / War / Historical
War + Historical: a typical launch earns $4,399 in its first year
That is the median of 30 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 7 of 50 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 10.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 7% on the year before: 43 against 40.
- Big publishers: over 85% from majors or $40+ games
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $4,399 median of 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −67.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 43 40 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 111 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 435 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. | 0.40%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.25% to 0.67% | 30 ranked of 111 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #586 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.76xhits against expected | 0.52x to 1.14x | 50 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,360 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +58%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | +11% to +115% | 24 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #121 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | +22%review growth against same-age games | +12% to +34% | 24 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #16 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
- 50
- Hit rate
- 15.7%6.3% to 27.2%
- Expected rate
- 20.4%
- Against expected
- 0.76x0.52x to 1.14x
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
51 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
- $303
- Median
- $4,855
- Top tenth
- $209,223
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
- +7%
- Against Steam
- −23%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- WarNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
- HistoricalNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside pairs.
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.
- Hell Let Loose: Vietnam (opens the Steam store)2026 · 11,087 reviews, 61% positiveest. $8.9M
- Terra Invicta (opens the Steam store)2026 · 9,088 reviews, 79% positiveest. $7M
- Master of Command (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,876 reviews, 92% positiveest. $2.3M
- The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall (opens the Steam store)2026 · 8,291 reviews, 58% positiveest. $1.2M
- Three Kingdoms Mushouden (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,880 reviews, 72% positiveest. $951k
- Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun (opens the Steam store)2024 · 3,833 reviews, 66% positiveest. $927k
- Tabletop Tavern (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,096 reviews, 89% positiveest. $848k
- Heads Will Roll: Reforged (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,664 reviews, 82% positiveest. $842k
More with War
pairs with War- RTS + War$4,48634 launches priced, 38 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
- Strategy + War$2,942102 launches priced, 126 releases in 12 months
- War + Real Time Tactics$2,22531 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
More with Historical
pairs with Historical- Story Rich + Historical$9,68533 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
- Simulation + Historical$5,28050 launches priced, 124 releases in 12 months
- Historical + Wargame$4,50234 launches priced, 56 releases in 12 months
- Strategy + Historical$4,25980 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Historical$4,25039 launches priced, 57 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based Strategy + Historical$4,04836 launches priced, 59 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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