How many copies did EVE Online sell?

2.5M to 4.0M copies, based on its 39k Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

How much revenue did EVE Online make?

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

How big is EVE Online?

Estimated owners: ≈ 2.5M–4.0M; from 39k 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 EVE Online out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including EVE Online's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 231k–507k

best case 1.2M (X4: Foundations)

Games like EVE Online

The middle of these games

≈ 231k–507k copies

≈ $1.5M–$6.7M 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.

All 8 of your similar games are hits.

Best case: X4: Foundations at ≈ 911k–1.5M copies, ≈ $12.5M–$33.7M after Steam's cut.

What it took to get here

About half the games that made it here had over 5k reviews in their first month; the spread ran 3k to 6k.

The genre you'd be entering

Your set: Your set clusters on Open World (5 of 8) and Sandbox (5 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Space Sim + Simulation, priced around $50.
The era: The games you compared span 2008 to 2025, 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

Game	Est. copies	Est. revenue	Price	Reviews	Tags
Avorion 2020	Est. copies ≈ 361k–586k 2.1x vs typical SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $2.5M–$6.7M after Steam's cut $4.5M–$10.3M before the cut	$24.99	15k reviews Very Positive	ExplorationSandbox
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
CryoFall 2021	Est. copies ≈ 160k–261k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $881k–$2.4M after Steam's cut $1.6M–$3.6M before the cut	$19.99	6k reviews Mostly Positive	Colony SimCrafting
Endless Sky 2015	Est. copies ≈ 346k–562k SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue Free	Free	7k reviews Very Positive	SpaceFree to Play
X4: Foundations 2018	Est. copies ≈ 911k–1.5M 4.4x 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
Anno 2205™ 2015	Est. copies ≈ 309k–502k SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $3.4M–$9.1M after Steam's cut $6.2M–$14.1M before the cut	$39.99	6k reviews Mostly Positive	City BuilderStrategy
SpaceBourne 2 2025	Est. copies ≈ 128k–207k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $701k–$1.9M after Steam's cut $1.3M–$2.9M before the cut	$19.99	5k reviews Mostly Positive	Early AccessRPG