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How many copies did Tropico 5 sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 807k–1.3M
$4.4M–$11.9M after Steam's cut $8.1M–$18.3M before the cut
from 14k 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 Tropico 5 out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Tropico 5's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 1.3M–2.6M
best case 18.7M (Cities: Skylines)
Games like Tropico 5

The middle of these games

≈ 1.3M–2.6M copies

≈ $15.4M–$36.9M after Steam's cut

from ~43k 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: Cities: Skylines at ≈ 14.2M–23.1M copies, ≈ $117.4M–$315.8M 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 16k reviews in their first month; the spread ran 6k to 34k.
The genre you'd be entering
Your set
Your set clusters on City Builder (8 of 8) and Sandbox (8 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with City Builder + Simulation, priced around $30. The breakout hits carry Moddable; a typical game here doesn't.
The era
The games you compared span 2014 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 70 for the oldest, then widened into a range; revenue rides on that estimate times price. Source: GameDiscoverCo (2020) and VG Insights (2021).

Similar games

Jurassic World Evolution
2018
Est. copies
≈ 1.7M–2.7M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$20.8M–$55.9M after Steam's cut $37.8M–$86.0M before the cut
$44.99
55k reviews
Very Positive
BuildingDinosaurs
Dwarf Fortress
2022
Est. copies
≈ 780k–1.3M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$6.4M–$17.3M after Steam's cut $11.7M–$26.6M before the cut
$29.99
31k reviews
Very Positive
DwarfColony Sim
Cities: Skylines
2015
Est. copies
≈ 14.2M–23.1M
6.7x vs typical
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$117.4M–$315.8M after Steam's cut $213.5M–$485.8M before the cut
$29.99
292k reviews
Very Positive
Banished
2014
Est. copies
≈ 2.4M–3.9M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$13.3M–$35.8M after Steam's cut $24.2M–$55.1M before the cut
$19.99
43k reviews
Very Positive
Cities: Skylines II
2023
Est. copies
≈ 2.3M–3.7M
2.1x vs typical
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$31.3M–$84.2M after Steam's cut $56.9M–$129.5M before the cut
$49.99
92k reviews
Mixed
Transport Fever 2
2019
Est. copies
≈ 934k–1.5M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$10.3M–$27.6M after Steam's cut $18.7M–$42.5M before the cut
$39.99
32k reviews
Very Positive
SimulationStrategy
Kingdoms and Castles
2017
Est. copies
≈ 1.1M–1.8M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$5.9M–$16.0M after Steam's cut $10.8M–$24.6M before the cut
$19.99
31k reviews
Very Positive
Jurassic World Evolution 2
2021
Est. copies
≈ 1.2M–1.9M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$19.2M–$51.7M after Steam's cut $35.0M–$79.5M before the cut
$59.99
47k reviews
Very Positive
DinosaursBuilding

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