How much revenue did METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN make?

$29.1M–$78.2M after Steam's roughly 30% cut, derived from the copies estimate and its price.

How many copies did METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN sell?

Q: How many copies did METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN sell?

5.3M to 8.6M copies, based on its 108k Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

Estimated copies sold: ≈ 5.3M–8.6M; $29.1M–$78.2M after Steam's cut $52.9M–$120.3M before Steam's cut; from 108k reviews (Very Positive)

Copies are estimated from the public review count, adjusted for release year, and cross-checked against SteamSpy's own estimate.

Did the prediction match what actually happened?

We hid METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN's, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 9.8M–17.1M

best case 125.7M (PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS)

Games like METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN

A typical game among these

≈ 9.8M–17.1M copies

≈ $135.5M–$311.1M after Steam's cut

from ~318k reviews

Only the top fifth of 2019's Steam releases earned $34k or more before Steam's cut, so plan for that or less.

All 8 of the similar games are hits.

Best case: PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS at ≈ 95.8M–155.7M copies. It is a breakout hit, far above a typical game.

The genre you'd be entering

These games: The similar games share Open World (6 of 8) and FPS (3 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Survival + Shooter. The breakout hits carry Shooter + Battle Royale + PvP; a typical game here doesn't.
When they shipped: The similar games span 2015 to 2025, and 1 of the 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 61 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
Schedule I 2025	Est. copies ≈ 7.9M–12.8M SteamSpy 10M–20M	Est. revenue $43.4M–$116.6M after Steam's cut $78.8M–$179.4M before Steam's cut	$19.99	318k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	Simulation Co-op
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS 2017	Est. copies ≈ 95.8M–155.7M 8.8x vs typical SteamSpy 100M–200M	Est. revenue Free	Free	2.8M reviews Mixed	SurvivalShooter
Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition 2019	Est. copies ≈ 10.3M–16.7M SteamSpy 10M–20M	Est. revenue $169.4M–$455.5M after Steam's cut $308.0M–$700.8M before Steam's cut	$59.99	357k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	Souls-likeDifficult
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition 2016	Est. copies ≈ 15.8M–25.6M SteamSpy 5M–10M	Est. revenue $173.2M–$465.8M after Steam's cut $315.0M–$716.6M before Steam's cut	$39.99	379k reviews Very Positive	Open WorldRPG
Assassin's Creed® Odyssey 2018	Est. copies ≈ 5.7M–9.3M SteamSpy 5M–10M	Est. revenue $94.8M–$254.9M after Steam's cut $172.4M–$392.1M before Steam's cut	$59.99	189k reviews Very Positive	Open WorldRPG
theHunter: Call of the Wild™ 2017	Est. copies ≈ 7.0M–11.4M SteamSpy 5M–10M	Est. revenue Free	Free	203k reviews Very Positive	HuntingOpen World
Hunt: Showdown 1896 2019	Est. copies ≈ 8.0M–13.1M SteamSpy 10M–20M	Est. revenue $66.3M–$178.3M after Steam's cut $120.6M–$274.4M before Steam's cut	$29.99	279k reviews Mostly Positive	Open WorldExtraction Shooter
Dying Light 2015	Est. copies ≈ 24.2M–39.3M 1.6x vs typical SteamSpy 10M–20M	Est. revenue $166.4M–$447.4M after Steam's cut $302.5M–$688.3M before Steam's cut	$24.99	496k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	ZombiesSurvival Horror