How much revenue did Steel Ocean make?

Steel Ocean is free to play, so there is no copy-sales revenue to estimate.

How many copies did Steel Ocean sell?

Q: How many copies did Steel Ocean sell?

217k to 353k copies, based on its 4k Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

Estimated copies sold: ≈ 217k–353k; from 4k reviews (Mixed)

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 Steel Ocean and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Steel Ocean's, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 84k–215k

best case 214k (Cold Waters)

Games like Steel Ocean

A typical game among these

≈ 84k–215k copies

≈ $678k–$1.4M after Steam's cut

from ~3k 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: Cold Waters at ≈ 163k–265k copies, ≈ $1.8M–$4.8M after Steam's cut.

The genre you'd be entering

These games: The similar games share Naval (8 of 8) and Simulation (8 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Simulation + Naval Combat, priced around $40.
When they shipped: The similar games span 2008 to 2023, and none of them 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

Game	Est. copies	Est. revenue	Price	Reviews	Tags
Atlantic Fleet 2016	Est. copies ≈ 65k–106k SteamSpy 50k–100k	Est. revenue $180k–$484k after Steam's cut $327k–$744k before Steam's cut	$9.99	2k reviews Very Positive	Naval CombatStrategy
Silent Hunter 5®: Battle of the Atlantic 2010	Est. copies ≈ 160k–260k SteamSpy 100k–200k	Est. revenue $440k–$1.2M after Steam's cut $800k–$1.8M before Steam's cut	$9.99	3k reviews Mixed	SimulationNaval Combat
Wolfpack 2019	Est. copies ≈ 61k–98k SteamSpy 50k–100k	Est. revenue $583k–$1.6M after Steam's cut $1.1M–$2.4M before Steam's cut	$34.99	2k reviews Very Positive	SimulationNaval Combat
Silent Hunter® III 2008	Est. copies ≈ 167k–271k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $458k–$1.2M after Steam's cut $832k–$1.9M before Steam's cut	$9.99	3k reviews Very Positive	Naval CombatSimulation
War on the Sea 2021	Est. copies ≈ 81k–131k SteamSpy 50k–100k	Est. revenue $890k–$2.4M after Steam's cut $1.6M–$3.7M before Steam's cut	$39.99	3k reviews Mostly Positive	StrategySimulation
Battlestations Pacific 2009	Est. copies ≈ 165k–268k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue Free	Free	3k reviews Mostly Positive	World War IIStrategy
Cold Waters 2017	Est. copies ≈ 163k–265k 1.8x vs typical SteamSpy 100k–200k	Est. revenue $1.8M–$4.8M after Steam's cut $3.3M–$7.4M before Steam's cut	$39.99	5k reviews Very Positive	SimulationNaval Combat
Rule the Waves 3 2023	Est. copies ≈ 27k–44k SteamSpy 20k–50k	Est. revenue $295k–$793k after Steam's cut $537k–$1.2M before Steam's cut	$39.99	1k reviews Very Positive	SimulationWargame