How much revenue did Game Dev Tycoon make?

$6.4M–$17.3M after Steam's roughly 30% cut, derived from the copies estimate and its price.

How many copies did Game Dev Tycoon sell?

Q: How many copies did Game Dev Tycoon sell?

2.3M to 3.8M copies, based on its 45k Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

Estimated copies sold: ≈ 2.3M–3.8M; $6.4M–$17.3M after Steam's cut $11.7M–$26.6M before the cut; from 45k 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 Game Dev Tycoon out and predicted the genre from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Game Dev Tycoon's, is estimated from Steam reviews, not self-reported sales.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 46.9M–74.5M

best case 123.4M (PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS)

The First-Person 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

≈ 46.9M–74.5M copies

≈ $267.5M–$448.3M after Steam's cut

from ~1.0M reviews

Best case

≈ 94.0M–152.8M copies

PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS

A breakout hit, far above a typical game.

The genre you'd be entering

Your set: Your set clusters on First-Person (3 of 8) and Sandbox (3 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Survival + Shooter, priced around $15. The breakout hits carry Shooter + Battle Royale + FPS; a typical game here doesn't.
The era: The games you compared span 2006 to 2020, 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
Terraria 2011	Est. copies ≈ 80.0M–130.0M 1.5x vs typical SteamSpy 20M–50M	Est. revenue $219.8M–$590.9M after Steam's cut $399.6M–$909.1M before the cut	$9.99	1.5M reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	Open World Survival CraftSandbox
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS 2017	Est. copies ≈ 94.0M–152.8M 2.7x vs typical SteamSpy 100M–200M	Est. revenue Free	Free	2.7M reviews Mixed	SurvivalShooter
Phasmophobia 2020	Est. copies ≈ 22.0M–35.8M SteamSpy 10M–20M	Est. revenue $121.1M–$325.6M after Steam's cut $220.2M–$500.9M before the cut	$19.99	834k reviews Very Positive	HorrorOnline Co-Op
Stardew Valley 2016	Est. copies ≈ 41.0M–66.6M SteamSpy 20M–50M	Est. revenue $169.0M–$454.3M after Steam's cut $307.2M–$698.9M before the cut	$14.99	1.0M reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	Farming SimPixel Graphics
Garry's Mod 2006	Est. copies ≈ 65.1M–105.7M SteamSpy 20M–50M	Est. revenue $178.7M–$480.5M after Steam's cut $324.9M–$739.2M before the cut	$9.99	1.3M reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	SandboxModdable
Euro Truck Simulator 2 2012	Est. copies ≈ 48.5M–78.7M SteamSpy 10M–20M	Est. revenue $266.4M–$716.2M after Steam's cut $484.3M–$1101.8M before the cut	$19.99	932k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	DrivingTransportation
Rust 2018	Est. copies ≈ 42.0M–68.3M SteamSpy 20M–50M	Est. revenue $462.1M–$1242.5M after Steam's cut $840.2M–$1911.5M before the cut	$39.99	1.4M reviews Very Positive	SurvivalCrafting
Wallpaper Engine 2018	Est. copies ≈ 30.5M–49.6M SteamSpy 20M–50M	Est. revenue $41.9M–$112.5M after Steam's cut $76.1M–$173.1M before the cut	$4.99	1.0M reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	MatureUtilities