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wishvane

How many copies did Return of the Obra Dinn sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 1.1M–1.7M
$5.9M–$15.7M after Steam's cut $10.6M–$24.2M before the cut
from 35k reviews (Overwhelmingly 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 Return of the Obra Dinn out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Return of the Obra Dinn's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 644k–1.7M
best case 1.7M (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy)
Games like Return of the Obra Dinn

The middle of these games

≈ 644k–1.7M copies

≈ $3.7M–$15.0M after Steam's cut

from ~27k 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: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy at ≈ 1.3M–2.1M copies, ≈ $10.7M–$28.6M after Steam's cut.

The genre you'd be entering
Your set
Your set clusters on Mystery (8 of 8) and Detective (7 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with Detective + Visual Novel, priced around $30.
The era
The games you compared span 2014 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 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

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
2016
Est. copies
≈ 1.6M–2.6M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$8.8M–$23.5M after Steam's cut $15.9M–$36.2M before the cut
$19.99
38k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
AnimeVisual Novel
Murdered: Soul Suspect
2014
Est. copies
≈ 973k–1.6M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$5.4M–$14.4M after Steam's cut $9.7M–$22.1M before the cut
$19.99
17k reviews
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DetectiveAdventure
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
2016
Est. copies
≈ 1.4M–2.2M
SteamSpy 500k–1M
Est. revenue
$7.5M–$20.1M after Steam's cut $13.6M–$30.9M before the cut
$19.99
33k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
AnimeDetective
Cube Escape: Paradox
2018
Est. copies
≈ 370k–602k
SteamSpy 500k–1M
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Free
Free
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PuzzleFree to Play
Unheard - Voices of Crime
2019
Est. copies
≈ 976k–1.6M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
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$1.9M–$5.0M after Steam's cut $3.4M–$7.8M before the cut
$6.99
34k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
DetectivePuzzle
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
2019
Est. copies
≈ 1.3M–2.1M
1.7x vs typical
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$10.7M–$28.6M after Steam's cut $19.4M–$44.1M before the cut
$29.99
45k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
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Cyber Manhunt
2021
Est. copies
≈ 389k–632k
SteamSpy 500k–1M
Est. revenue
$1.1M–$2.9M after Steam's cut $1.9M–$4.4M before the cut
$9.99
16k reviews
Very Positive
Murders on the Yangtze River
2024
Est. copies
≈ 525k–853k
SteamSpy 200k–500k
Est. revenue
$2.2M–$5.8M after Steam's cut $3.9M–$8.9M before the cut
$14.99
21k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
DetectiveAdventure

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