How much revenue did The Darkside Detective make?

$746k–$2.0M after Steam's roughly 30% cut, derived from the copies estimate and its price.

How many copies did The Darkside Detective sell?

Q: How many copies did The Darkside Detective sell?

181k to 294k copies, based on its 5k Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

Estimated copies sold: ≈ 181k–294k; $746k–$2.0M after Steam's cut $1.4M–$3.1M before Steam's cut; from 5k 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 The Darkside Detective and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including The Darkside Detective's, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 314k–356k

best case 655k (The Test)

Games like The Darkside Detective

A typical game among these

≈ 314k–356k copies

≈ $1.6M–$2.5M after Steam's cut

from ~10k 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: The Test at ≈ 499k–810k copies, ≈ $273k–$734k after Steam's cut. It is a breakout hit, far above a typical game.

What their first month looked like

About half the games that made it here had over 1k reviews in their first month; the range was 399 to 13k.

The genre you'd be entering

These games: The similar games share Puzzle (6 of 8) and Story Rich (5 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Detective + Immersive Sim, priced around $13. The breakout hits carry Immersive Sim + Sandbox + Noir; a typical game here doesn't.
When they shipped: Only 3 of the 8 similar games shipped in the last two years. That says more about which games were found than about the market.

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 36 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
The Rewinder 2021	Est. copies ≈ 183k–297k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $754k–$2.0M after Steam's cut $1.4M–$3.1M before Steam's cut	$14.99	7k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	AdventureMystery
The Case of the Golden Idol 2022	Est. copies ≈ 273k–444k SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $1.4M–$3.6M after Steam's cut $2.5M–$5.6M before Steam's cut	$17.99	11k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	MysteryDetective
Shadows of Doubt 2024	Est. copies ≈ 442k–719k 1.8x vs typical SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $3.0M–$8.2M after Steam's cut $5.5M–$12.6M before Steam's cut	$24.99	18k reviews Very Positive	DetectiveImmersive Sim
No Case Should Remain Unsolved 2024	Est. copies ≈ 266k–433k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $512k–$1.4M after Steam's cut $930k–$2.1M before Steam's cut	$6.99	11k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	Interactive FictionPuzzle
Carto 2020	Est. copies ≈ 233k–379k SteamSpy 100k–200k	Est. revenue $1.3M–$3.4M after Steam's cut $2.3M–$5.3M before Steam's cut	$19.99	9k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	IndieCute
Yuppie Psycho: Executive Edition 2019	Est. copies ≈ 275k–447k SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $1.3M–$3.5M after Steam's cut $2.3M–$5.3M before Steam's cut	$16.99	10k reviews Very Positive	PuzzlePixel Graphics
The Test 2020	Est. copies ≈ 499k–810k 2.0x vs typical SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $273k–$734k after Steam's cut $496k–$1.1M before Steam's cut	$1.99	20k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	Choose Your Own AdventureSimulation
Enigma of Fear 2024	Est. copies ≈ 257k–417k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $2.1M–$5.7M after Steam's cut $3.9M–$8.8M before Steam's cut	$29.99	10k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	MysteryInvestigation