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How many copies did The Shadow Government Simulator sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 3k–4k
$7k–$20k after Steam's cut $14k–$31k before the cut
from 110 reviews (Mostly 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 The Shadow Government Simulator out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including The Shadow Government Simulator's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 920k–9.8M
best case 20.6M (Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI)
Games like The Shadow Government Simulator

The middle of these games

≈ 920k–9.8M copies

≈ $5.4M–$177.6M after Steam's cut

from ~39k 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: Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI at ≈ 15.7M–25.6M copies, ≈ $259.5M–$697.7M after Steam's cut.

The genre you'd be entering
Your set
Your set clusters on Turn-Based Strategy (7 of 8) and Historical (5 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with Turn-Based Strategy + Historical, priced around $60.
The era
The games you compared span 2010 to 2023, and none of them 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

Sid Meier's Civilization® V
2010
Est. copies
≈ 13.3M–21.6M
5.4x vs typical
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$109.7M–$295.1M after Steam's cut $199.5M–$454.0M before the cut
$29.99
211k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
Turn-Based StrategyStrategy
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI
2016
Est. copies
≈ 15.7M–25.6M
9.6x vs typical
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$259.5M–$697.7M after Steam's cut $471.8M–$1073.4M before the cut
$59.99
378k reviews
Very Positive
StrategyTurn-Based Strategy
Age of History II
2018
Est. copies
≈ 1.5M–2.5M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$2.5M–$6.7M after Steam's cut $4.5M–$10.3M before the cut
$5.99
50k reviews
Very Positive
StrategyHistorical
Battle Brothers
2017
Est. copies
≈ 986k–1.6M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$8.1M–$21.9M after Steam's cut $14.8M–$33.6M before the cut
$29.99
29k reviews
Very Positive
StrategyRPG
Into the Breach
2018
Est. copies
≈ 676k–1.1M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$2.8M–$7.5M after Steam's cut $5.1M–$11.5M before the cut
$14.99
22k reviews
Very Positive
StrategyTurn-Based Strategy
HUMANKIND™
2021
Est. copies
≈ 709k–1.2M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$9.8M–$26.2M after Steam's cut $17.7M–$40.3M before the cut
$49.99
29k reviews
Mixed
StrategyTurn-Based Strategy
Hero's Adventure: Road to Passion
2023
Est. copies
≈ 608k–988k
SteamSpy 500k–1M
Est. revenue
$3.0M–$8.1M after Steam's cut $5.5M–$12.4M before the cut
$17.99
25k reviews
Very Positive
RPGMartial Arts
Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition
2013
Est. copies
≈ 5.6M–9.0M
2.2x vs typical
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$91.8M–$246.8M after Steam's cut $166.9M–$379.7M before the cut
$59.99
88k reviews
Very Positive
StrategyHistorical

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