Steam Revenue Calculator: Estimate Game Sales

Enter a released game's Steam review count and price to estimate how many copies it has sold and what it earned before and after Valve's cut. The calculator multiplies reviews by an adjustable sales-per-review range, adjusts for discounts and refunds, then applies Valve's 30%, 25% and 20% revenue share tiers.

Step 1 of 3: Reviews

How to use it

  1. Enter the game's total review count from its Steam store page and press Next.
  2. Enter its full price in USD and press Next.
  3. Pick Low, Typical or High sales per review, or type your own range, and set the average price paid and the refund rate.
  4. Press Estimate revenue to see copies sold, gross revenue and what is left after refunds and Valve's cut.
  5. Press Copy estimate to save the numbers, or Change inputs to try other assumptions.

How the reviews-to-sales estimate works

Valve does not publish sales numbers, but every store page shows a review count. Developers estimate sales by multiplying that count by a sales-per-review ratio, often called the Boxleiter number after Mike Boxleiter. It is a rule of thumb fitted to games whose sales were shared, not a figure from Steam.

Worked example with the default inputs: 500 reviews at 30 to 50 sales per review gives 15,000 to 25,000 copies. At a $15 list price with buyers paying 70% of it on average, that is $157,500 to $262,500 gross. After 10% refunds and Valve's 30% share, about $99,225 to $165,375 is left for the developer, before sales tax, VAT, any publisher's share and income tax.

Valve's share is 30% of a game's Steam revenue up to $10 million, 25% of revenue between $10 million and $50 million, and 20% above that. The $100 Steam Direct fee is not refundable; Valve pays it back in the payout after the game reaches $1,000 in Adjusted Gross Revenue.

What published studies say about sales per review

Jake Birkett of Grey Alien Games looked at the top 50 Steam games of 2014 and suggested 30 to 100 owners per review as an approximate guide, stressing that it was not precise.

GameDiscoverCo's August 2020 survey of 237 games found a median of 58 sales per review, with the middle 80% between roughly 25 and 100. Games launched in 2020 had a median of 38, mostly between 20 and 60. Steam started prompting players to review in late October 2019, which lowered the ratio for games released after it.

VG Insights figures collected on How To Market A Game put the median at 31 for 2020 releases and 20 to 55 for 2021 releases. Gamalytic's 2023 analysis found around 30 sales per review for games above 90% positive, close to 60 for games around 70% positive, and almost twice as many sales per review for free games as for paid ones.

The presets follow these numbers: Low is 20 to 30, Typical is 30 to 50 for a paid game released since 2019, and High is 50 to 80 for older games, mixed reviews or heavy discounting.

Why the estimate can be far off

The ratio changes from game to game. Heavily discounted and bundled games pick up sales without as many reviews, Jake Birkett saw more owners per review for shorter games, and very well reviewed games get more reviews per buyer. Gamalytic notes that review-based estimates show a trend but are not accurate for any single game.

Use the review count for all languages. On games with enough reviews, Steam shows a score for the visitor's own language by default, and the store page lets you switch to the all-languages total.

Revenue is lower than copies times list price. Launch discounts, seasonal sales and lower regional prices pull the average price paid down, which is what the average price paid setting is for. Simon Carless estimates that after the average selling price, discounts, Valve's cut, refunds and VAT, a developer may keep 30% to 50% of copies times list price, or less.

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is a Steam revenue calculator?
A review-based estimate tells you the order of magnitude, not the exact figure. Published studies find sales per review varies several times over between games, so the real number can fall outside the range shown. Only the developer knows the actual sales.
What is the Boxleiter number?
It is the number of copies sold per Steam review, named after Mike Boxleiter. Multiplying a game's review count by it gives a rough sales estimate. GameDiscoverCo found most games launched in 2020 between 20 and 60.
How many sales is one Steam review worth?
There is no fixed number. GameDiscoverCo found a median of 38 for games launched in 2020, while older games and free games run higher. The Typical preset uses 30 to 50.
How much does Valve take from Steam sales?
Valve takes 30% of a game's Steam revenue up to $10 million, 25% between $10 million and $50 million, and 20% above $50 million. The $100 app fee is paid back once the game reaches $1,000 in Adjusted Gross Revenue.
Does the calculator include sales tax and VAT?
No. Enter the price without sales tax or VAT. Tax collected on a sale is not developer revenue, so the results leave it out.

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