Sign in
wishvane

How many copies did They Breathe sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 73k–119k
$40k–$108k after Steam's cut $73k–$166k before Steam's cut
from 1k 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 They Breathe and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including They Breathe's, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 14.1M–28.5M
best case 56.0M (Rust)
Games like They Breathe

A typical game among these

≈ 14.1M–28.5M copies

≈ $184.7M–$328.4M after Steam's cut

from ~470k 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: Rust at ≈ 42.7M–69.3M copies, ≈ $469.3M–$1261.8M after Steam's cut. It is a breakout hit, far above a typical game.

The genre you'd be entering
These games
The similar games share Open World (7 of 8) and Survival (7 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with Survival + Crafting, priced around $40. The breakout hits carry Building + PvP + Sandbox; a typical game here doesn't.
When they shipped
The similar games span 2013 to 2024, 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 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

Rust
2018
Est. copies
≈ 42.7M–69.3M
3.0x vs typical
SteamSpy 20M–50M
Est. revenue
$469.3M–$1261.8M after Steam's cut $853.3M–$1941.3M before Steam's cut
$39.99
1.4M reviews
Very Positive
SurvivalCrafting
DayZ
2018
Est. copies
≈ 14.3M–23.2M
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$196.4M–$527.9M after Steam's cut $357.0M–$812.2M before Steam's cut
$49.99
470k reviews
Mostly Positive
SurvivalOpen World
The Forest
2018
Est. copies
≈ 20.8M–33.7M
SteamSpy 20M–50M
Est. revenue
$114.2M–$306.9M after Steam's cut $207.5M–$472.2M before Steam's cut
$19.99
683k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
Open World Survival CraftSurvival
Project Zomboid
2013
Est. copies
≈ 30.5M–49.6M
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$209.9M–$564.4M after Steam's cut $381.6M–$868.2M before Steam's cut
$24.99
483k reviews
Very Positive
SurvivalZombies
Subnautica
2018
Est. copies
≈ 11.6M–18.8M
SteamSpy 5M–10M
Est. revenue
$95.5M–$256.7M after Steam's cut $173.6M–$395.0M before Steam's cut
$29.99
381k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
Open World Survival CraftSurvival
SCP: Secret Laboratory
2017
Est. copies
≈ 8.1M–13.1M
SteamSpy 5M–10M
Est. revenue
Free
Free
235k reviews
Very Positive
Free to PlayMultiplayer
Don't Starve Together
2016
Est. copies
≈ 22.6M–36.8M
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$93.2M–$250.7M after Steam's cut $169.5M–$385.7M before Steam's cut
$14.99
544k reviews
Very Positive
SurvivalOpen World Survival Craft
7 Days to Die
2024
Est. copies
≈ 9.9M–16.2M
SteamSpy 10M–20M
Est. revenue
$123.1M–$331.0M after Steam's cut $223.8M–$509.2M before Steam's cut
$44.99
401k reviews
Very Positive
SurvivalZombies

Sizing up your own game? See how many copies games in its genre usually sell before you build it.