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How many copies did Total War: PHARAOH sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 134k–218k
$1.5M–$4.0M after Steam's cut $2.7M–$6.1M before the cut
from 5k reviews (Mixed)

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 Total War: PHARAOH out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Total War: PHARAOH's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 4.7M–9.0M
best case 20.5M (Hearts of Iron IV)
Games like Total War: PHARAOH

The middle of these games

≈ 4.7M–9.0M copies

≈ $100.8M–$188.5M after Steam's cut

from ~137k 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: Hearts of Iron IV at ≈ 15.6M–25.4M copies, ≈ $214.5M–$576.7M after Steam's cut. A breakout hit, far above a typical game.

The genre you'd be entering
Your set
Your set clusters on Grand Strategy (8 of 8) and Historical (5 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with World War II + Grand Strategy, priced around $50. The breakout hits carry World War II + Alternate History + Military; a typical game here doesn't.
The era
The games you compared span 2013 to 2022, 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

Total War: WARHAMMER II
2017
Est. copies
≈ 4.2M–6.8M
SteamSpy 5M–10M
Est. revenue
$68.9M–$185.3M after Steam's cut $125.3M–$285.1M before the cut
$59.99
121k reviews
Very Positive
StrategyFantasy
Stellaris
2016
Est. copies
≈ 8.2M–13.3M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$112.6M–$302.8M after Steam's cut $204.7M–$465.8M before the cut
$49.99
197k reviews
Very Positive
Crusader Kings III
2020
Est. copies
≈ 3.5M–5.8M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$48.8M–$131.2M after Steam's cut $88.7M–$201.9M before the cut
$49.99
143k reviews
Very Positive
StrategyMedieval
Total War: THREE KINGDOMS
2019
Est. copies
≈ 2.7M–4.4M
SteamSpy 5M–10M
Est. revenue
$29.6M–$79.7M after Steam's cut $53.9M–$122.6M before the cut
$39.99
94k reviews
Very Positive
StrategyHistorical
Hearts of Iron IV
2016
Est. copies
≈ 15.6M–25.4M
2.7x vs typical
SteamSpy 5M–10M
Est. revenue
$214.5M–$576.7M after Steam's cut $390.0M–$887.2M before the cut
$49.99
375k reviews
Very Positive
StrategyWorld War II
Total War: WARHAMMER III
2022
Est. copies
≈ 3.7M–6.0M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$60.5M–$162.7M after Steam's cut $110.0M–$250.2M before the cut
$59.99
148k reviews
Mostly Positive
StrategyTurn-Based Strategy
Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition
2013
Est. copies
≈ 5.6M–9.0M
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
Europa Universalis IV
2013
Est. copies
≈ 8.7M–14.1M
SteamSpy 5M–10M
Est. revenue
$119.2M–$320.5M after Steam's cut $216.8M–$493.1M before the cut
$49.99
137k reviews
Very Positive
Grand StrategyStrategy

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