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How many copies did Sigma Theory: Global Cold War sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 40k–65k
$197k–$531k after Steam's cut $359k–$816k before Steam's cut
from 1k reviews (Mostly 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 Sigma Theory: Global Cold War and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Sigma Theory: Global Cold War's, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 592k–1.8M
best case 2.0M (Victoria 3)
Games like Sigma Theory: Global Cold War

A typical game among these

≈ 592k–1.8M copies

≈ $6.3M–$16.1M after Steam's cut

from ~24k 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: Victoria 3 at ≈ 1.6M–2.5M copies, ≈ $21.4M–$57.4M after Steam's cut.

What their first month looked like
About half the games that made it here had over 3k reviews in their first month; the range was 3k to 20k.
The genre you'd be entering
These games
The similar games share Simulation (7 of 8) and Political Sim (6 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with Grand Strategy + Economy, priced around $50.
When they shipped
The similar games span 2010 to 2022, 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

Eco
2018
Est. copies
≈ 428k–696k
SteamSpy 500k–1M
Est. revenue
$3.5M–$9.5M after Steam's cut $6.4M–$14.6M before Steam's cut
$29.99
14k reviews
Very Positive
Early AccessSimulation
Victoria II
2010
Est. copies
≈ 1.3M–2.1M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$7.2M–$19.5M after Steam's cut $13.2M–$29.9M before Steam's cut
$19.99
21k reviews
Very Positive
Grand StrategyStrategy
Democracy 3
2013
Est. copies
≈ 459k–745k
SteamSpy 200k–500k
Est. revenue
$3.2M–$8.5M after Steam's cut $5.7M–$13.0M before Steam's cut
$24.99
7k reviews
Mostly Positive
Political SimSimulation
WorldBox - God Simulator
2021
Est. copies
≈ 1.4M–2.3M
2.4x vs typical
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$7.8M–$20.9M after Steam's cut $14.1M–$32.1M before Steam's cut
$19.99
57k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
SandboxGod Game
Victoria 3
2022
Est. copies
≈ 1.6M–2.5M
2.6x vs typical
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$21.4M–$57.4M after Steam's cut $38.8M–$88.4M before Steam's cut
$49.99
63k reviews
Mixed
Grand StrategyEconomy
Tropico 6
2019
Est. copies
≈ 851k–1.4M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$9.4M–$25.2M after Steam's cut $17.0M–$38.7M before Steam's cut
$39.99
30k reviews
Very Positive
City BuilderStrategy
Rebel Inc: Escalation
2021
Est. copies
≈ 189k–307k
SteamSpy 200k–500k
Est. revenue
$778k–$2.1M after Steam's cut $1.4M–$3.2M before Steam's cut
$14.99
8k reviews
Very Positive
StrategySimulation
Imperator: Rome
2019
Est. copies
≈ 773k–1.3M
SteamSpy 1M–2M
Est. revenue
$8.5M–$22.8M after Steam's cut $15.5M–$35.2M before Steam's cut
$39.99
27k reviews
Mixed
StrategyGrand Strategy

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