How much revenue did Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ make?

$14.3M–$38.4M after Steam's roughly 30% cut, derived from the copies estimate and its price.

How many copies did Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ sell?

Q: How many copies did Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ sell?

1.3M to 2.1M copies, based on its 23k Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

Estimated copies sold: ≈ 1.3M–2.1M; $14.3M–$38.4M after Steam's cut $26.0M–$59.0M before Steam's cut; from 23k 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 Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™ and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™'s, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 290k–666k

best case 1.3M (BATTLETECH)

Games like Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth™

A typical game among these

≈ 290k–666k copies

≈ $2.9M–$4.3M after Steam's cut

from ~8k 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: BATTLETECH at ≈ 1.0M–1.6M copies, ≈ $11.1M–$29.9M 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 Sci-fi (8 of 8) and Turn-Based (6 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Mechs + Turn-Based Tactics, priced around $40. The breakout hits carry Mechs + Turn-Based Tactics + Tactical; a typical game here doesn't.
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
Cobalt Core 2023	Est. copies ≈ 109k–177k too small to compare SteamSpy 100k–200k	Est. revenue $600k–$1.6M after Steam's cut $1.1M–$2.5M before Steam's cut	$19.99	4k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	Roguelike DeckbuilderCard Game
Galactic Civilizations III 2015	Est. copies ≈ 508k–825k SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $4.2M–$11.3M after Steam's cut $7.6M–$17.3M before Steam's cut	$29.99	10k reviews Mostly Positive	AliensSci-fi
X-COM: UFO Defense 2008	Est. copies ≈ 253k–411k too small to compare SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $347k–$934k after Steam's cut $632k–$1.4M before Steam's cut	$4.99	4k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	StrategyClassic
Age of Wonders: Planetfall 2019	Est. copies ≈ 193k–313k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $1.6M–$4.3M after Steam's cut $2.9M–$6.6M before Steam's cut	$29.99	7k reviews Mostly Positive	StrategyTurn-Based Strategy
ENDLESS Space™ - Definitive Edition 2012	Est. copies ≈ 607k–987k SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $1.7M–$4.5M after Steam's cut $3.0M–$6.9M before Steam's cut	$9.99	10k reviews Very Positive	Strategy4X
BATTLETECH 2018	Est. copies ≈ 1.0M–1.6M 4.1x vs typical SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $11.1M–$29.9M after Steam's cut $20.2M–$46.0M before Steam's cut	$39.99	33k reviews Very Positive	MechsStrategy
Master of Orion 2016	Est. copies ≈ 341k–554k SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $2.3M–$6.3M after Steam's cut $4.3M–$9.7M before Steam's cut	$24.99	8k reviews Mostly Positive	Strategy4X
Terraforming Mars 2018	Est. copies ≈ 221k–358k SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $1.2M–$3.3M after Steam's cut $2.2M–$5.0M before Steam's cut	$19.99	7k reviews Mostly Positive	StrategyBoard Game