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How big is Life Tastes Like Cardboard?

Estimated owners
≈ 10k–16k
from 336 reviews (Very Positive)

A labeled estimate from the public review count (adjusted for release year), not exact sales. Owner data cross-checked with SteamSpy.

Does this actually work?

We left Life Tastes Like Cardboard out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Life Tastes Like Cardboard's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 57k–230k
best case 521k (The Cat Lady)
Games like Life Tastes Like Cardboard

The middle of these games

≈ 57k–230k copies

≈ $317k–$635k after Steam's cut

from ~2k reviews

Only the top fifth of 2019’s Steam releases earned about $34k gross, so plan for that or less.

All 8 of your similar games are hits.

Best case: The Cat Lady at ≈ 397k–646k copies, ≈ $982k–$2.6M after Steam's cut.

What it took to get here
About half the games that made it here had over 173 reviews in their first month; the spread ran 122 to 551.
The genre you'd be entering
Your set
Your set clusters on Story Rich (6 of 8) and Emotional (3 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with Horror + Story Rich, priced around $9.
The era
The games you compared span 2009 to 2025, and 1 of your 8 shipped in the last two years.
How these numbers were worked out

A hit here: 1,000+ reviews, roughly $150k+ before Steam's cut (a standard indie benchmark).

Copies come from each game's reviews times a sales-per-review rate that falls with release age, from about 31 for the most recent game here to about 79 for the oldest, then widened into a range; revenue rides on that estimate times price. Source: GameDiscoverCo (2020) and VG Insights (2021).

Similar games

The Dream Machine: Chapter 1 & 2
2012
Est. copies
≈ 142k–230k
SteamSpy 200k–500k
Est. revenue
$155k–$418k after Steam's cut $283k–$643k before the cut
$3.99
2k reviews
Very Positive
Point & ClickHand-drawn
The Cat Lady
2013
Est. copies
≈ 397k–646k
3.7x vs typical
SteamSpy 200k–500k
Est. revenue
$982k–$2.6M after Steam's cut $1.8M–$4.1M before the cut
$8.99
6k reviews
Very Positive
DEAD LETTER DEPT.
2025
Est. copies
≈ 46k–75k
SteamSpy 20k–50k
Est. revenue
$189k–$509k after Steam's cut $344k–$783k before the cut
$14.99
2k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
HorrorTyping
The Bridge
2013
Est. copies
≈ 275k–447k
2.6x vs typical
SteamSpy 200k–500k
Est. revenue
$756k–$2.0M after Steam's cut $1.4M–$3.1M before the cut
$9.99
4k reviews
Very Positive
Puzzle-PlatformerHand-drawn
Mundaun
2021
Est. copies
≈ 37k–60k
SteamSpy under 20k
Est. revenue
$204k–$548k after Steam's cut $371k–$844k before the cut
$19.99
1k reviews
Very Positive
Walking SimulatorHand-drawn
The Void
2009
Est. copies
≈ 76k–123k
SteamSpy 50k–100k
Est. revenue
$207k–$558k after Steam's cut $377k–$858k before the cut
$9.99
1k reviews
Very Positive
SurrealNudity
That Dragon, Cancer
2016
Est. copies
≈ 65k–105k
SteamSpy 50k–100k
Est. revenue
$177k–$477k after Steam's cut $322k–$733k before the cut
$9.99
2k reviews
Very Positive
IndieStory Rich
The Almost Gone
2020
Est. copies
≈ 30k–49k
SteamSpy 200k–500k
Est. revenue
$84k–$225k after Steam's cut $152k–$346k before the cut
$9.99
1k reviews
Very Positive
PuzzlePoint & Click

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