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How many copies did Pavlov sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 1.0M–1.6M
$6.9M–$18.6M after Steam's cut $12.6M–$28.6M before Steam's cut
from 41k 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 Pavlov and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Pavlov's, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 3.1M–5.2M
best case 65.2M (War Thunder)
Games like Pavlov

A typical game among these

≈ 3.1M–5.2M copies

≈ $35.7M–$61.9M after Steam's cut

from ~99k 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: War Thunder at ≈ 49.7M–80.7M copies. It is a breakout hit, far above a typical game.

The genre you'd be entering
These games
The similar games share VR (5 of 8) and First-Person (3 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with Simulation + Vehicular Combat. The breakout hits carry Vehicular Combat + World War II + Flight; a typical game here doesn't.
When they shipped
The similar games span 2013 to 2021, 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

SteamVR
unreleased
Est. copies
≈ 2.2M–3.5M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
Free
Free
87k reviews
Very Positive
VRSoftware
Soundpad
2017
Est. copies
≈ 3.6M–5.9M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$4.9M–$13.3M after Steam's cut $9.0M–$20.5M before Steam's cut
$4.99
105k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
UtilitiesAudio Production
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard
2017
Est. copies
≈ 4.4M–7.1M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$24.1M–$64.9M after Steam's cut $43.9M–$99.9M before Steam's cut
$19.99
128k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
Rec Room
2021
Est. copies
≈ 2.1M–3.4M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
Free
Free
84k reviews
Very Positive
Free to PlayVR
War Thunder
2013
Est. copies
≈ 49.7M–80.7M
8.0x vs typical
SteamSpy 20M–50M
Est. revenue
Free
Free
786k reviews
Mostly Positive
Free to PlaySimulation
Totally Accurate Battlegrounds
2018
Est. copies
≈ 2.7M–4.3M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
Free
Free
88k reviews
Very Positive
MultiplayerPhysics
Half-Life: Alyx
2020
Est. copies
≈ 2.6M–4.3M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$43.2M–$116.1M after Steam's cut $78.5M–$178.5M before Steam's cut
$59.99
106k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
VRFPS
Resident Evil 4 (2005)
2014
Est. copies
≈ 5.5M–9.0M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$30.4M–$81.7M after Steam's cut $55.2M–$125.7M before Steam's cut
$19.99
99k reviews
Very Positive
Inventory ManagementSurvival Horror

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