How much revenue did X-COM: UFO Defense make?

$347k–$934k after Steam's roughly 30% cut, derived from the copies estimate and its price.

How many copies did X-COM: UFO Defense sell?

Q: How many copies did X-COM: UFO Defense sell?

253k to 411k copies, based on its 4k Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

Estimated copies sold: ≈ 253k–411k; $347k–$934k after Steam's cut $632k–$1.4M before Steam's cut; from 4k reviews (Overwhelmingly 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 X-COM: UFO Defense and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including X-COM: UFO Defense's, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 22k–84k

best case 245k (Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel)

Games like X-COM: UFO Defense

A typical game among these

≈ 22k–84k copies

≈ $58k–$171k after Steam's cut

from ~700 reviews

Only the top fifth of 2019's Steam releases earned $34k or more before Steam's cut, so plan for that or less.

2 of the 8 similar games are hits.

Best case: Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel at ≈ 187k–303k copies, ≈ $513k–$1.4M after Steam's cut.

The genre you'd be entering

These games: The similar games share Sci-fi (7 of 8) and Turn-Based (6 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Post-apocalyptic + Turn-Based, priced around $10.
When they shipped: The similar games span 2007 to 2020, 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
X-COM: Terror From the Deep 2007	Est. copies ≈ 60k–97k SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $82k–$220k after Steam's cut $149k–$339k before Steam's cut	$4.99	944 reviews Very Positive	StrategyTurn-Based
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel 2009	Est. copies ≈ 187k–303k 4.2x vs typical SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $513k–$1.4M after Steam's cut $933k–$2.1M before Steam's cut	$9.99	3k reviews Mostly Positive	Post-apocalypticRPG
X-COM: Apocalypse 2008	Est. copies ≈ 61k–99k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $83k–$224k after Steam's cut $152k–$345k before Steam's cut	$4.99	961 reviews Very Positive	StrategyTurn-Based
UFO: Aftermath 2014	Est. copies ≈ 19k–31k SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $21k–$57k after Steam's cut $38k–$87k before Steam's cut	$3.99	343 reviews Mostly Positive	StrategyTactical
Master of Orion 2 2016	Est. copies ≈ 73k–119k 2.5x vs typical SteamSpy 100k–200k	Est. revenue $121k–$324k after Steam's cut $219k–$499k before Steam's cut	$5.99	2k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	Strategy4X
Master of Orion 1 2016	Est. copies ≈ 19k–31k SteamSpy 100k–200k	Est. revenue $31k–$84k after Steam's cut $57k–$129k before Steam's cut	$5.99	456 reviews Very Positive	Strategy4X
Pax Nova 2020	Est. copies ≈ 11k–18k SteamSpy under 20k	Est. revenue $77k–$208k after Steam's cut $140k–$319k before Steam's cut	$24.99	453 reviews Mixed	Strategy4X
Chaos Galaxy 2020	Est. copies ≈ 8k–12k SteamSpy 20k–50k	Est. revenue $31k–$84k after Steam's cut $57k–$129k before Steam's cut	$14.99	304 reviews Very Positive	MechsGrand Strategy