How much revenue did Papers, Please make?

$11.4M–$30.6M after Steam's roughly 30% cut, derived from the copies estimate and its price.

How many copies did Papers, Please sell?

Q: How many copies did Papers, Please sell?

4.1M to 6.7M copies, based on its 80k Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

Estimated copies sold: ≈ 4.1M–6.7M; $11.4M–$30.6M after Steam's cut $20.7M–$47.1M before the cut; from 80k 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 Papers, Please out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Papers, Please's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 743k–837k

best case 2.0M (Age of History II)

The Simulation genre

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

Your picks lean toward this genre's biggest survivors; the typical figure reads from its ordinary successes.

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

A typical game

≈ 743k–837k copies

≈ $2.4M–$4.8M after Steam's cut

from ~16k reviews

Best case

≈ 1.5M–2.5M copies

Age of History II · ≈ $2.5M–$6.7M 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 (7 of 8) and City Builder (4 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Simulation, priced around $35. The breakout hits carry Strategy + Management; a typical game here doesn't.
The era: The games you compared span 2015 to 2025, a genre with a long track record.

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

Similar games

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Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic 2024	Est. copies ≈ 638k–1.0M 1.7x vs typical SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $7.0M–$18.9M after Steam's cut $12.8M–$29.0M before the cut	$39.99	27k reviews Very Positive	StrategySimulation
Age of History II 2018	Est. copies ≈ 1.5M–2.5M 3.2x vs typical SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $2.5M–$6.7M after Steam's cut $4.5M–$10.3M before the cut	$5.99	50k reviews Very Positive	StrategyHistorical
Garfield Kart 2015	Est. copies ≈ 656k–1.1M SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $900k–$2.4M after Steam's cut $1.6M–$3.7M before the cut	$4.99	14k reviews Very Positive	Cult ClassicCombat Racing
Beholder 2016	Est. copies ≈ 1.2M–2.0M 2.0x vs typical SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $4.7M–$12.7M after Steam's cut $8.6M–$19.6M before the cut	$13.99	31k reviews Very Positive	Dystopian Choices Matter
Dawn of Man 2019	Est. copies ≈ 512k–832k SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $3.5M–$9.5M after Steam's cut $6.4M–$14.6M before the cut	$24.99	18k reviews Very Positive	City Builder Colony Sim
Tropico 6 2019	Est. copies ≈ 842k–1.4M 1.9x vs typical SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $9.3M–$24.9M after Steam's cut $16.8M–$38.3M before the cut	$39.99	29k reviews Very Positive	City BuilderStrategy
Foundation 2025	Est. copies ≈ 575k–934k 1.5x vs typical SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $5.5M–$14.9M after Steam's cut $10.1M–$22.9M before the cut	$34.99	24k reviews Very Positive	City Builder Simulation
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You 2016	Est. copies ≈ 620k–1.0M SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $1.7M–$4.6M after Steam's cut $3.1M–$7.0M before the cut	$9.99	16k reviews Very Positive	Choices MatterPolitical Sim