How many copies did Naev sell?

8k to 13k copies, based on its 230 Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

How much revenue did Naev make?

Naev is free to play, so there is no copy-sales revenue to estimate.

How big is Naev?

Estimated owners: ≈ 8k–13k; from 230 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 Naev out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Naev's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 197k–754k

best case 6.9M (Elite Dangerous)

Games like Naev

The middle of these games

≈ 197k–754k copies

≈ $885k–$15.1M after Steam's cut

from ~7k reviews

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

7 of your 8 similar games are hits.

Best case: Elite Dangerous at ≈ 5.2M–8.5M copies, ≈ $28.8M–$77.4M after Steam's cut.

The genre you'd be entering

Your set: Your set clusters on Space (8 of 8) and Sci-fi (6 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Space Sim + Space, priced around $20.
The era: The games you compared span 2008 to 2021, 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

Game	Est. copies	Est. revenue	Price	Reviews	Tags
X4: Foundations 2018	Est. copies ≈ 911k–1.5M 4.2x vs typical SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $12.5M–$33.7M after Steam's cut $22.8M–$51.8M before the cut	$49.99	30k reviews Mostly Positive	Space SimSimulation
Elite Dangerous 2015	Est. copies ≈ 5.2M–8.5M 15x vs typical SteamSpy 2M–5M	Est. revenue $28.8M–$77.4M after Steam's cut $52.3M–$119.1M before the cut	$19.99	107k reviews Mostly Positive	Space SimSpace
Endless Sky 2015	Est. copies ≈ 346k–562k SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue Free	Free	7k reviews Very Positive	SpaceFree to Play
Cosmonautica 2015	Est. copies ≈ 58k–94k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $160k–$429k after Steam's cut $290k–$660k before the cut	$9.99	1k reviews Mixed	TradingSpace
X3: Terran Conflict 2008	Est. copies ≈ 181k–294k SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $797k–$2.1M after Steam's cut $1.4M–$3.3M before the cut	$15.99	3k reviews Very Positive	SpaceSimulation
X Rebirth 2013	Est. copies ≈ 462k–751k SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $3.8M–$10.3M after Steam's cut $6.9M–$15.8M before the cut	$29.99	7k reviews Mixed	SimulationSpace
Rebel Galaxy 2015	Est. copies ≈ 409k–665k SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $2.3M–$6.1M after Steam's cut $4.1M–$9.3M before the cut	$19.99	8k reviews Very Positive	SpaceOpen World
Frontier Pilot Simulator 2021	Est. copies ≈ 24k–39k SteamSpy 50k–100k	Est. revenue $163k–$438k after Steam's cut $296k–$674k before the cut	$24.99	956 reviews Mixed	EconomySpace