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How many copies did They Breathe sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 73k–119k
$40k–$107k after Steam's cut $73k–$165k before the cut
from 1k 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 They Breathe out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including They Breathe's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 14.1M–28.4M
best case 55.6M (Rust)
Games like They Breathe

The middle of these games

≈ 14.1M–28.4M copies

≈ $183.9M–$327.4M after Steam's cut

from ~469k 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: Rust at ≈ 42.4M–68.9M copies, ≈ $466.2M–$1253.5M after Steam's cut. A breakout hit, far above a typical game.

The genre you'd be entering
Your set
Your set clusters on Open World (7 of 8) and Survival (7 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with Survival + Crafting, priced around $40. The breakout hits carry Building + PvP + Sandbox; a typical game here doesn't.
The era
The games you compared span 2013 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
3.0x 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
DayZ
2018
Est. copies
≈ 14.2M–23.1M
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$195.8M–$526.4M after Steam's cut $356.0M–$809.9M before the cut
$49.99
469k reviews
Mostly Positive
SurvivalOpen World
The Forest
2018
Est. copies
≈ 20.7M–33.6M
SteamSpy 20M–50M
Est. revenue
$113.8M–$305.9M after Steam's cut $206.9M–$470.7M before the cut
$19.99
681k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
Open World Survival CraftSurvival
Project Zomboid
2013
Est. copies
≈ 30.2M–49.0M
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$207.3M–$557.3M after Steam's cut $376.9M–$857.4M before the cut
$24.99
477k reviews
Very Positive
SurvivalZombies
Subnautica
2018
Est. copies
≈ 11.5M–18.7M
SteamSpy 5M–10M
Est. revenue
$95.0M–$255.4M after Steam's cut $172.7M–$393.0M before the cut
$29.99
379k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
Open World Survival CraftSurvival
SCP: Secret Laboratory
2017
Est. copies
≈ 8.0M–13.1M
SteamSpy 5M–10M
Est. revenue
Free
Free
234k reviews
Very Positive
Free to PlayMultiplayer
Don't Starve Together
2016
Est. copies
≈ 22.6M–36.7M
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$93.0M–$250.0M after Steam's cut $169.0M–$384.6M before the cut
$14.99
542k reviews
Very Positive
SurvivalOpen World Survival Craft
7 Days to Die
2024
Est. copies
≈ 9.9M–16.1M
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$122.7M–$330.0M after Steam's cut $223.1M–$507.7M before the cut
$44.99
400k reviews
Very Positive
SurvivalZombies

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