How many sales one Steam review means
2 min read
By Eduardo Orellana ·
The review-to-sales ratio, often called the Boxleiter number after the developer who popularised it, estimates a game's sales by multiplying its Steam review count. The original rule of thumb was about 50 sales per review; most estimates published since put recent games in a range of roughly 20 to 60, with older games and cheaper games often higher. It is a rough guide for comparing games, never an exact figure: genre, price, audience and how often a game asks for reviews all move it.
Valve does not publish sales
So developers estimate from what is public, and reviews are the most reliable public signal. Only buyers can leave a Steam review, so review counts scale with sales, if loosely.
The ratio
- Rule of thumb: about 50 sales per review, the original Boxleiter estimate.
- Recent estimates: roughly 20 to 60 for most games released in the last few years.
- Higher for older games, cheap games, and genres whose players rarely review.
- Lower for games with very engaged communities that review a lot.
Using it
Estimate a range, not a number: reviews times 20 and times 60. Compare games in the same genre and price band. See estimate a game's sales from its reviews for the full method.
Where Flockbay fits
Flockbay shows your game's followers, an estimated wishlist range, and exact wishlists on your own Steamworks key, kept on your machine. Free on every account.