How many copies did Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition sell?

Q: How many copies did Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition sell?

1.9M to 3.1M copies, based on its 72k Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

Q: How much revenue did Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition make?

$31.5M–$84.7M after Steam's roughly 30% cut, derived from the copies estimate and its price.

Estimated copies sold: ≈ 1.9M–3.1M; $31.5M–$84.7M after Steam's cut $57.3M–$130.3M before the cut; from 72k 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 Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 790k–1.5M

best case 24.7M (BeamNG.drive)

The Simulation genre

All 8 of your similar games are hits. A big, proven genre for a game like yours.

A hit here: 1,000+ reviews, roughly $150k+ before Steam's cut (a standard indie benchmark).

A typical game

≈ 790k–1.5M copies

≈ $10.7M–$16.3M after Steam's cut

from ~22k reviews

Best case

≈ 18.8M–30.6M copies

BeamNG.drive · ≈ $129.2M–$347.5M after Steam's cut

A breakout hit, far above a typical game.

The genre you'd be entering

Your set: Your set clusters on Simulation (8 of 8) and Realistic (7 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Simulation + Driving, priced around $25. The breakout hits carry Driving + Destruction + Automobile Sim; a typical game here doesn't.
The era: The games you compared span 2013 to 2019, a genre with a long track record.

Copies and revenue are rough lifetime estimates from the review count.

Similar games

Game	Est. copies	Est. revenue	Price	Reviews	Tags
BeamNG.drive 2015	Est. copies ≈ 18.8M–30.6M 19x vs typical SteamSpy 5M–10M	Est. revenue $129.2M–$347.5M after Steam's cut $235.0M–$534.6M before the cut	$24.99	405k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	SimulationDriving
Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing 2018	Est. copies ≈ 414k–673k SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $2.3M–$6.1M after Steam's cut $4.1M–$9.4M before the cut	$19.99	14k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	SimulationFlight
Transport Fever 2 2019	Est. copies ≈ 924k–1.5M SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $10.2M–$27.3M after Steam's cut $18.5M–$42.0M before the cut	$39.99	32k reviews Very Positive	SimulationStrategy
DCS World Steam Edition 2013	Est. copies ≈ 2.1M–3.4M 1.9x vs typical SteamSpy 5M–10M	Est. revenue Free	Free	41k reviews Very Positive	SimulationFlight
VTOL VR 2017	Est. copies ≈ 744k–1.2M SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $6.1M–$16.5M after Steam's cut $11.2M–$25.4M before the cut	$29.99	22k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	FlightVR
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad 2014	Est. copies ≈ 512k–832k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $7.0M–$18.9M after Steam's cut $12.8M–$29.1M before the cut	$49.99	10k reviews Mostly Positive	FlightRealistic
X-Plane 11 2017	Est. copies ≈ 691k–1.1M SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $5.7M–$15.3M after Steam's cut $10.4M–$23.6M before the cut	$29.99	20k reviews Very Positive	SimulationFlight
Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition 2014	Est. copies ≈ 1.4M–2.2M SteamSpy 2M–5M	Est. revenue $9.4M–$25.4M after Steam's cut $17.2M–$39.0M before the cut	$24.99	26k reviews Very Positive	FlightSimulation