How much revenue did Synthwave Dream '85 make?

$2k–$5k after Steam's roughly 30% cut, derived from the copies estimate and its price.

How many copies did Synthwave Dream '85 sell?

Q: How many copies did Synthwave Dream '85 sell?

2k to 3k copies, based on its 73 Steam reviews. This is a labeled estimate from the review count, not exact sales.

Estimated copies sold: ≈ 2k–3k; $2k–$5k after Steam's cut $4k–$8k before Steam's cut; from 73 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 Synthwave Dream '85 and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Synthwave Dream '85's, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 1k–7k

best case 502k (Retrowave)

Games like Synthwave Dream '85

A typical game among these

≈ 1k–7k copies

≈ $2k–$5k after Steam's cut

from ~70 reviews

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

1 of the 8 similar games is a hit.

Best case: Retrowave at ≈ 383k–622k copies, ≈ $315k–$846k after Steam's cut. It is a breakout hit, far above a typical game.

What their first month looked like

About half the games that made it here had over 22 reviews in their first month; the range was 7 to 7k.

Games with under about 100 reviews in month one almost never recover.

The genre you'd be entering

These games: The similar games share Racing (7 of 8) and Runner (5 of 8).
The winners: Winners here lead with Racing + 1980s, priced around $3. The breakout hits carry Music + Retro + 1980s; a typical game here doesn't.
When they shipped: The similar games span 2016 to 2024, and 2 of the 8 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 52 for the oldest, then widened into a range; revenue rides on that estimate times price. Source: GameDiscoverCo (2020) and VG Insights (2021).

Similar games

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ITRP _ Aero Star 2023	Est. copies ≈ 2k–3k SteamSpy 50k–100k	Est. revenue $950–$3k after Steam's cut $2k–$4k before Steam's cut	$1.99	70 reviews Very Positive	ActionFast-Paced
Cyber Driver 2019	Est. copies ≈ 5k–7k 2.3x vs typical SteamSpy under 20k	Est. revenue $1k–$3k after Steam's cut $2k–$5k before Steam's cut	$0.99	158 reviews Very Positive	Automobile SimCasual
ULTRATORO 2024	Est. copies ≈ 670–1k SteamSpy under 20k	Est. revenue $1k–$3k after Steam's cut $2k–$5k before Steam's cut	$5.99	27 reviews Positive	ArcadeDriving
Sunset Drive 1986 2021	Est. copies ≈ 6k–10k 3.5x vs typical SteamSpy 20k–50k	Est. revenue Free	Free	247 reviews Very Positive	Early AccessRunner
80's Night 2021	Est. copies ≈ 1k–2k SteamSpy 20k–50k	Est. revenue $3k–$8k after Steam's cut $5k–$12k before Steam's cut	$7.99	53 reviews Mixed	RacingIndie
TRON RUN/r 2016	Est. copies ≈ 19k–30k 6.4x vs typical SteamSpy 50k–100k	Est. revenue $102k–$275k after Steam's cut $186k–$423k before Steam's cut	$19.99	447 reviews Mostly Positive	ActionRacing
Retrowave 2022	Est. copies ≈ 383k–622k 220x vs typical SteamSpy 200k–500k	Est. revenue $315k–$846k after Steam's cut $572k–$1.3M before Steam's cut	$2.99	15k reviews Overwhelmingly Positive	Racing1980s