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How many copies did Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 13k–22k
$73k–$198k after Steam's cut $134k–$304k before the cut
from 539 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 Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 21k–78k
best case 128.5M (Terraria)
Games like Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

The middle of these games

≈ 21k–78k copies

≈ $60k–$519k after Steam's cut

from ~1k reviews

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

6 of your 8 similar games are hits.

Best case: Terraria at ≈ 97.9M–159.1M copies, ≈ $269.0M–$723.1M after Steam's cut. A breakout hit, far above a typical game.

What it took to get here
About half the games that made it here had over 86 reviews in their first month; the spread ran 1 to 2k.
Under about 100 in month one, almost nothing recovers.
The genre you'd be entering
Your set
Your set clusters on Survival (6 of 8) and Open World (5 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with Survival + Crafting, priced around $25. The breakout hits carry Multiplayer + Crafting + Open World Survival Craft; a typical game here doesn't.
The era
The games you compared span 2011 to 2024, 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

Rust
2018
Est. copies
≈ 42.4M–68.9M
1019x vs typical
SteamSpy 20M–50M
Est. revenue
$466.2M–$1253.5M after Steam's cut $847.6M–$1928.4M before the cut
$39.99
1.4M reviews
Very Positive
SurvivalCrafting
Terraria
2011
Est. copies
≈ 97.9M–159.1M
1132x vs typical
SteamSpy 20M–50M
Est. revenue
$269.0M–$723.1M after Steam's cut $489.0M–$1112.5M before the cut
$9.99
1.5M reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
Open World Survival CraftSandbox
Wayward
2016
Est. copies
≈ 57k–92k
SteamSpy 50k–100k
Est. revenue
$125k–$336k after Steam's cut $227k–$516k before the cut
$7.99
1k reviews
Very Positive
SurvivalOpen World Survival Craft
UnReal World
2016
Est. copies
≈ 57k–93k
SteamSpy 100k–200k
Est. revenue
$228k–$612k after Steam's cut $414k–$941k before the cut
$14.50
1k reviews
Very Positive
Open WorldSurvival
Rogue Harvest
2018
Est. copies
≈ 2k–3k
SteamSpy under 20k
Est. revenue
$2k–$5k after Steam's cut $3k–$7k before the cut
$2.99
69 reviews
Mixed
Action RoguelikeRogue-lite
ZED ZONE
2023
Est. copies
≈ 91k–147k
2.7x vs typical
SteamSpy 200k–500k
Est. revenue
$299k–$805k after Steam's cut $544k–$1.2M before the cut
$11.99
4k reviews
Very Positive
Early AccessSurvival
Soulash 2
2023
Est. copies
≈ 60k–98k
1.8x vs typical
SteamSpy 50k–100k
Est. revenue
$314k–$844k after Steam's cut $571k–$1.3M before the cut
$18.99
2k reviews
Very Positive
Early AccessSandbox
Evo Born
2024
Est. copies
≈ 74–121
SteamSpy under 20k
Est. revenue
$20–$55 after Steam's cut $37–$84 before the cut
$0.99
3 reviews
3 user reviews
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