Simulation games are built around “doing a real(ish) thing”—running a city, managing a household, driving a truck, washing a building, or operating farm machinery—then letting players optimize, customize, and roleplay inside that system. Below are recent, well-known simulation-genre stats that show how big the genre is, how players engage with it, and where the money (and mods) tend to go.
Key simulation game stats
- The Sims 4 has reached 70+ million players worldwide (April 2023).
- After The Sims 4 base game went free-to-play (Oct 2022), EA reported 16+ million new downloads and average weekly users up 53% (April 2023).
- Farming Simulator 22 has sold 6+ million copies (Feb 2024), supported by 5,600+ official ModHub mods and 3.2 billion ModHub downloads.
- GIANTS also reported ~100,000 dedicated servers running simultaneously for multiplayer Farming Simulator (Feb 2024).
- Euro Truck Simulator 2 sold 13+ million copies in its first 10 years, with Steam reporting 80+ million DLCs purchased (Oct 2022).
- Cities: Skylines has sold 12+ million copies across platforms (June 2022).
- PowerWash Simulator surpassed 12 million players (Apr 2024).
- Newzoo’s free 2025 outlook pegs the global games market at $188.8B revenue and 3.6B players in 2025 (with a forecast to $206.5B and ~3.9B players by 2028).
- Grand View Research estimates the global gaming simulator market at $6.87B (2023), projected to reach $16.17B (2030) at a 13.1% CAGR.
Player milestones (selected simulation titles)
“Players” counts often include cross-platform participation and (depending on publisher language) can represent unique accounts or total players over time. These figures are best used as scale indicators rather than direct “sales” comparisons.
| Label | Bar | Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sims 4 |
| 70M players | ||
| Microsoft Flight Simulator |
| 15M players | ||
| PowerWash Simulator |
| 12M players |
Max = 70M players. Widths: The Sims 4 100.00%, Microsoft Flight Simulator 21.43%, PowerWash Simulator 17.14%.
Best-selling simulation titles (copies sold)
“Copies sold” is the cleanest apples-to-apples metric across premium simulation titles. The chart below uses publisher/developer milestones where available.
| Label | Bar | Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euro Truck Simulator 2 |
| 13.0M copies | ||
| Cities: Skylines |
| 12.0M copies | ||
| Farming Simulator 22 |
| 6.0M copies | ||
| Planet Coaster |
| 2.5M copies |
Max = 13.0M copies. Widths: Euro Truck Simulator 2 100.00%, Cities: Skylines 92.31%, Farming Simulator 22 46.15%, Planet Coaster 19.23%.
Mods, UGC, and “long-tail” engagement
Simulation games tend to grow through user-generated content (UGC), expansions, and niche communities—often staying relevant for years because the “base system” supports endless scenarios.
- Farming Simulator 22: GIANTS reported 5,600+ officially approved mods and 3.2B ModHub downloads (Feb 2024). They also noted that FS22 mods account for 1.4B downloads—nearly 50% of all ModHub downloads since ModHub launched.
- The Sims 4: EA reported a spike in UGC activity after going free-to-play, including 7M+ in-game Gallery downloads in a single week (April 2023).
- Cities: Skylines: Paradox highlights modding as “vital,” and noted the game had shipped with 13 expansions by mid-2022—an example of how “sim + content” keeps a title evergreen.
Multiplayer scale: “small genre,” big concurrency
- GIANTS reported ~100,000 dedicated servers running Farming Simulator multiplayer simultaneously (Feb 2024).
- In the same update, GIANTS said Farming Simulator 22 surpassed 135,000 concurrent Steam players during its first weekend.
Why simulation games fit the “relax + mastery” loop
Simulation games frequently overlap with “cozy” and “stress relief” motivations. ESA’s Essential Facts 2024 report found:
- 68% of players say they play games “to pass the time or relax,” and 67% play “to have fun.”
- 76% of U.S. adults agree that video games provide stress relief.
Monetization patterns: DLC, expansions, and content packs
- Euro Truck Simulator 2: Beyond its 13M+ copies sold milestone, SCS cited Steam reporting 80M+ DLC purchases (Oct 2022), showing how map packs and cosmetics can rival (or exceed) base-game volume over time.
- The Sims 4: EA described the ecosystem as “more than 60 packs and kits” (April 2023), reinforcing the “platform” model common to life sims.
Market context: simulator growth and hardware-driven realism
While “simulation games” span many subgenres (life sim, city builder, vehicle sim, job sim), the broader “gaming simulator” market research category highlights a consistent demand driver: realism plus specialized hardware.
- Grand View Research estimates the global gaming simulator market at $6.87B (2023) and projects $16.17B by 2030 (13.1% CAGR).
- In that same summary, hardware accounted for a 64.7% revenue share (2023), and racing led game-type revenue share at 51.7% (2023).
Sources
Newzoo — “Newzoo’s Global Games Market Report 2025 | Free version” (Sep 9, 2025): https://newzoo.com/resources/trend-reports/newzoo-global-games-market-report-2025
Grand View Research — “Gaming Simulator Market (2024–2030) …” (report summary page): https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/gaming-simulator-market
Electronic Arts (Investor Relations) — “The Sims 4 … More Than 70 Million Players Worldwide” (Apr 18, 2023): https://ir.ea.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2023/The-Sims-4-Becomes-the-Most-Widely-Played-Game-in-the-23-Year-History-of-the-Franchise-With-More-Than-70-Million-Players-Worldwide/default.aspx
GIANTS Software — “Record numbers across the board” (Feb 2, 2024): https://www.giants-software.com/news.php?show=news-104
Paradox Interactive — “Cities: Skylines hits 12 million sales mark” (Jun 22, 2022): https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/media/press-releases/press-release/cities-skylines-hits-12-million-sales-mark
SCS Software blog — “Euro Truck Simulator 2’s 10th Anniversary” (Oct 17, 2022): https://blog.scssoft.com/2022/10/euro-truck-simulator-2s-10th-anniversary.html
FuturLab — “Thank You for 12 million PowerWash Simulator Players” (Apr 22, 2024): https://www.futurlab.co.uk/news/thank-you-for-12-million-powerwash-simulator-players
Game Developer (Informa) — “Planet Zoo has surpassed 1 million sales…” (May 20, 2020): https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/-i-planet-zoo-i-has-surpassed-1-million-sales-in-under-six-months
ESA — “Essential Facts 2024” PDF: https://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Essential-Facts-2024-FINAL.pdf
GlobeNewswire (Enthusiast Gaming press release) (Jan 7, 2019): https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/01/07/1681494/0/en/Enthusiast-Gaming-to-Acquire-The-Sims-Resource-the-World-s-Largest-Female-Video-Gaming-Website.html