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How many copies did Distant Worlds 2 sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 88k–143k
$1.2M–$3.3M after Steam's cut $2.2M–$5.0M before the cut
from 4k 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 Distant Worlds 2 out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Distant Worlds 2's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 77k–4.1M
best case 10.8M (Stellaris)
Games like Distant Worlds 2

The middle of these games

≈ 77k–4.1M copies

≈ $1.1M–$90.5M after Steam's cut

from ~18k 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: Stellaris at ≈ 8.2M–13.3M copies, ≈ $112.6M–$302.8M after Steam's cut.

What it took to get here
About half the games that made it here had over 779 reviews in their first month; the spread ran 662 to 35k.
The genre you'd be entering
Your set
Your set clusters on 4X (8 of 8) and Grand Strategy (8 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with Space + Grand Strategy, priced around $50.
The era
The games you compared span 2013 to 2025, and 2 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

Ultimate General: American Revolution
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Est. copies
≈ 27k–44k
SteamSpy 20k–50k
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$374k–$1.0M after Steam's cut $680k–$1.5M before the cut
$49.99
1k reviews
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Grand StrategyAmerica
AI War 2
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Stellaris
2016
Est. copies
≈ 8.2M–13.3M
11x vs typical
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$112.6M–$302.8M after Steam's cut $204.7M–$465.8M before the cut
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Galactic Civilizations IV
2023
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≈ 64k–103k
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$699k–$1.9M after Steam's cut $1.3M–$2.9M before the cut
$39.99
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Old World
2022
Est. copies
≈ 170k–276k
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Europa Universalis IV
2013
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≈ 8.7M–14.1M
7.7x vs typical
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$119.2M–$320.5M after Steam's cut $216.8M–$493.1M before the cut
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≈ 1.4M–2.4M
3.3x vs typical
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$69.99
58k reviews
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HUMANKIND™
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≈ 709k–1.2M
1.6x vs typical
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$9.8M–$26.2M after Steam's cut $17.7M–$40.3M before the cut
$49.99
29k reviews
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StrategyTurn-Based Strategy

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