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How many copies did Rocket Science sell?

Estimated copies sold
≈ 4k–7k
$24k–$65k after Steam's cut $44k–$99k before Steam's cut
from 176 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 Rocket Science and predicted how it would do from its 8 similar games. Every figure here, including Rocket Science's, is estimated from Steam reviews.

Copies, estimated from reviews

typical (middle half) 5.7M–8.2M
best case 23.0M (No Man's Sky)
Games like Rocket Science

A typical game among these

≈ 5.7M–8.2M copies

≈ $49.6M–$103.4M after Steam's cut

from ~139k 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: No Man's Sky at ≈ 17.5M–28.5M copies, ≈ $289.3M–$777.8M 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 Space (7 of 8) and Exploration (5 of 8).
The winners
Winners here lead with Open World + Open World Survival Craft, priced around $60. The breakout hits carry Procedural Generation + Adventure + Open World Survival Craft; a typical game here doesn't.
When they shipped
The similar games span 2008 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

Kerbal Space Program
2015
Est. copies
≈ 7.2M–11.7M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$79.0M–$212.3M after Steam's cut $143.6M–$326.6M before Steam's cut
$39.99
147k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
SpaceSimulation
No Man's Sky
2016
Est. copies
≈ 17.5M–28.5M
3.0x vs typical
SteamSpy 5M–10M
Est. revenue
$289.3M–$777.8M after Steam's cut $526.0M–$1196.6M before Steam's cut
$59.99
422k reviews
Very Positive
Open WorldOpen World Survival Craft
ASTRONEER
2019
Est. copies
≈ 4.0M–6.5M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$33.1M–$89.1M after Steam's cut $60.2M–$137.0M before Steam's cut
$29.99
139k reviews
Very Positive
MultiplayerOpen World
SPORE™
2008
Est. copies
≈ 4.6M–7.5M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$25.3M–$68.0M after Steam's cut $46.0M–$104.7M before Steam's cut
$19.99
73k reviews
Very Positive
God GameOpen World
Oxygen Not Included
2019
Est. copies
≈ 4.1M–6.7M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$28.5M–$76.7M after Steam's cut $51.9M–$118.0M before Steam's cut
$24.99
144k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
Colony SimBase-Building
Elite Dangerous
2015
Est. copies
≈ 5.3M–8.5M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$28.9M–$77.8M after Steam's cut $52.6M–$119.6M before Steam's cut
$19.99
108k reviews
Mostly Positive
Space SimSpace
Stellaris
2016
Est. copies
≈ 8.2M–13.3M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$112.6M–$302.6M after Steam's cut $204.7M–$465.6M before Steam's cut
$49.99
197k reviews
Very Positive
Starbound
2016
Est. copies
≈ 5.1M–8.3M
SteamSpy 2M–5M
Est. revenue
$21.1M–$56.9M after Steam's cut $38.4M–$87.5M before Steam's cut
$14.99
123k reviews
Very Positive
Open World Survival CraftSandbox

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