How much revenue did The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark make?

$207k–$558k after Steam's roughly 30% cut, derived from the copies estimate and its price.

How many copies did The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark sell?

Q: How many copies did The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark sell?

50k to 82k copies, based on its 2k Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

Estimated copies sold: ≈ 50k–82k; $207k–$558k after Steam's cut $377k–$858k before Steam's cut; from 2k 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 The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark's, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 1.6M–2.6M

best case 5.0M (Disco Elysium - The Final Cut)

Games like The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark

A typical game among these

≈ 1.6M–2.6M copies

≈ $12.4M–$19.6M after Steam's cut

from ~37k 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: Disco Elysium - The Final Cut at ≈ 3.8M–6.2M copies, ≈ $41.7M–$112.0M 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 Detective (8 of 8) and Story Rich (8 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Story Rich + Choices Matter, priced around $40. The breakout hits carry Choices Matter + Isometric + RPG; a typical game here doesn't.
When they shipped: The similar games span 2011 to 2019, 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 36 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
L.A. Noire 2011	Est. copies ≈ 2.3M–3.8M SteamSpy 2M–5M	Est. revenue $12.8M–$34.5M after Steam's cut $23.4M–$53.1M before Steam's cut	$19.99	37k reviews Very Positive	DetectiveCrime
Unheard - Voices of Crime 2019	Est. copies ≈ 981k–1.6M SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $1.9M–$5.1M after Steam's cut $3.4M–$7.8M before Steam's cut	$6.99	34k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	DetectivePuzzle
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy 2019	Est. copies ≈ 1.3M–2.1M SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $10.8M–$28.9M after Steam's cut $19.5M–$44.5M before Steam's cut	$29.99	45k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	DetectiveVisual Novel
Disco Elysium - The Final Cut 2019	Est. copies ≈ 3.8M–6.2M 3.6x vs typical SteamSpy 2M–5M	Est. revenue $41.7M–$112.0M after Steam's cut $75.8M–$172.3M before Steam's cut	$39.99	132k reviews Very Positive	RPGStory Rich
Return of the Obra Dinn 2018	Est. copies ≈ 1.1M–1.7M SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $5.9M–$15.9M after Steam's cut $10.7M–$24.4M before Steam's cut	$19.99	35k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	DetectiveMystery
The Wolf Among Us 2013	Est. copies ≈ 2.5M–4.1M SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $10.5M–$28.2M after Steam's cut $19.1M–$43.4M before Steam's cut	$14.99	40k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	AdventureDetective
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc 2016	Est. copies ≈ 1.6M–2.6M SteamSpy 1M–2M	Est. revenue $8.9M–$24.0M after Steam's cut $16.2M–$36.9M before Steam's cut	$19.99	39k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	AnimeVisual Novel
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 2016	Est. copies ≈ 1.4M–2.2M SteamSpy 500k–1M	Est. revenue $7.5M–$20.3M after Steam's cut $13.7M–$31.2M before Steam's cut	$19.99	33k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	AnimeDetective