The Game Census
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter cover art

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The Astronauts · 2014-09-25

SteamGOGPlayStation StoreEpic Games StoreMicrosoft Store

AdventureIndie

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: First person

Releases: Aug 15, 2019 (Nintendo Switch), Sep 25, 2014 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Jul 15, 2015 (PlayStation 4), Jan 19, 2018 (Xbox One)

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person story-driven mystery. Purchase this game to get both the original and the Unreal Engine 4 remaster called The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Redux.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is an Adventure and Indie game released in 2014, priced at $19.99, with an owner estimate of 500,000 .. 1,000,000 and a review sentiment of Very Positive (88% of 8974 reviews).— census verdict as of 2026-09-20

0
playing now
88%
positive of 9.0k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
500,000–1,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
82/100
critic score (16 outlets, IGDB)
75/100
IGDB user rating (389 ratings)
7
Nexus mods (155 downloads)
4.39★
PlayStation Store rating (8,392 ratings)
4.2h
to beat · rushed 3.5h · completionist 5.1h
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Verified
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$19.99
steam price (US)

0 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 11:00 UTC (census sample)

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a 2014 horror adventure video game developed and published by The Astronauts for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Trailer

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter trailer thumbnail

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Trailer | PS4

≈349,622 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 0 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 95 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~12/week).
  • · Review velocity up 13% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 4% of 28,623 Adventure games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-29

Estimated sales: 224k–539k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 8,979 total reviews — how this is computed.

Current store prices

GOG$3.99-80%
Steam$3.99-80%
GOG$19.99
Microsoft Store$19.99

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $1.99 at Steam (2024-07-21) · bundled 1×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $19.99 · on sale 99 of 143 observed days · $18.00 above the all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
888820182026Week of 2018-01-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 88 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 1 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 4 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

1002026-09-14 21:00 — 4 players2026-09-16 05:00 — 0 players2026-09-17 12:00 — 2 players2026-09-18 20:00 — 3 players2026-09-20 03:00 — 0 players2026-09-21 11:00 — 0 players2026-09-22 19:00 — 3 players2026-09-24 02:00 — 0 players2026-09-25 10:00 — 3 players2026-09-26 17:00 — 5 players2026-09-28 01:00 — 1 players2026-09-29 08:00 — 1 players2026-09-30 16:00 — 4 players2026-10-01 23:00 — 2 players2026-10-03 07:00 — 3 players2026-10-04 15:00 — 10 players2026-10-05 22:00 — 3 players2026-10-07 06:00 — 1 players2026-10-08 13:00 — 3 players2026-10-09 21:00 — 3 players2026-10-11 04:00 — 0 players2026-10-12 12:00 — 3 players2026-10-13 20:00 — 2 players2026-10-14 11:00 — 0 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
2052Sep 2014Jul 2026Sep 2014 — avg 205 · peak 1,431Jan 2015 — avg 92 · peak 341May 2015 — avg 47 · peak 126Sep 2015 — avg 36 · peak 138Jan 2016 — avg 28 · peak 90May 2016 — avg 12 · peak 37Sep 2016 — avg 12 · peak 31Jan 2017 — avg 23 · peak 85May 2017 — avg 8 · peak 29Sep 2017 — avg 8 · peak 22Jan 2018 — avg 12 · peak 38May 2018 — avg 6 · peak 21Sep 2018 — avg 5 · peak 15Jan 2019 — avg 9 · peak 33May 2019 — avg 4 · peak 14Sep 2019 — avg 3 · peak 14Jan 2020 — avg 6 · peak 26May 2020 — avg 5 · peak 18Sep 2020 — avg 3 · peak 14Jan 2021 — avg 5 · peak 20May 2021 — avg 3 · peak 10Sep 2021 — avg 2 · peak 12Jan 2022 — avg 4 · peak 17May 2022 — avg 2 · peak 8Sep 2022 — avg 2 · peak 12Jan 2023 — avg 3 · peak 11May 2023 — avg 3 · peak 9Sep 2023 — avg 2 · peak 5Jan 2024 — avg 3 · peak 9May 2024 — avg 2 · peak 10Sep 2024 — avg 3 · peak 11Jan 2025 — avg 3 · peak 8Jul 2025 — avg 2 · peak 9Feb 2026 — avg 2 · peak 11Jul 2026 — avg 3 · peak 10
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$20.53$2.892015-01-012026-10-142015-01-01 — best price $13.892015-03-27 — best price $11.992015-06-11 — best price $7.992015-09-08 — best price $11.992015-12-12 — best price $6.692016-03-06 — best price $11.992016-06-30 — best price $4.992016-10-28 — best price $3.992017-02-13 — best price $19.992017-07-22 — best price $18.582017-12-01 — best price $19.992018-04-27 — best price $19.992018-08-13 — best price $17.192018-11-24 — best price $19.992019-03-19 — best price $19.992019-08-13 — best price $19.992019-12-13 — best price $18.082020-04-12 — best price $5.002020-10-10 — best price $19.992021-03-29 — best price $19.992021-10-27 — best price $10.002022-03-02 — best price $18.912022-09-01 — best price $9.992023-01-16 — best price $20.532023-07-15 — best price $19.992023-12-05 — best price $2.992024-05-05 — best price $9.992024-09-14 — best price $19.992025-01-14 — best price $10.002025-05-24 — best price $19.992025-11-21 — best price $8.462026-04-15 — best price $4.992026-08-27 — best price $3.992026-10-08 — best price $19.992026-10-14 — best price $19.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

168612026-05-31 — 86 pageviews2026-06-04 — 88 pageviews2026-06-08 — 105 pageviews2026-06-12 — 80 pageviews2026-06-16 — 87 pageviews2026-06-20 — 116 pageviews2026-06-24 — 74 pageviews2026-06-28 — 102 pageviews2026-07-02 — 106 pageviews2026-07-06 — 78 pageviews2026-07-10 — 84 pageviews2026-07-14 — 86 pageviews2026-07-18 — 83 pageviews2026-07-22 — 71 pageviews2026-07-26 — 91 pageviews2026-07-30 — 101 pageviews2026-08-03 — 94 pageviews2026-08-07 — 84 pageviews2026-08-11 — 88 pageviews2026-08-15 — 86 pageviews2026-08-19 — 100 pageviews2026-08-23 — 106 pageviews2026-08-27 — 81 pageviews2026-08-31 — 89 pageviews2026-09-04 — 109 pageviews2026-09-08 — 124 pageviews2026-09-12 — 82 pageviews2026-09-16 — 79 pageviews2026-09-20 — 110 pageviews2026-09-24 — 94 pageviews2026-09-28 — 81 pageviews2026-10-02 — 133 pageviews2026-10-06 — 134 pageviews2026-10-10 — 168 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

14
achievements tracked
41.9%
earned "Sap"
28%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsFull controller supportSingle-playerSteam AchievementsFull controller supportSteam Trading CardsSteam CloudRemote Play on TVFamily Sharing1 DLC

6 supported languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Polish

Post-launch support: 1 DLC released, first 2014-09-25 (Steam store data)

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
PS4 (PlayStation)14,44559%14
Steam (Steam)11,42437%14
Xbox One (Xbox)1,87769%14
Switch (Nintendo)160%0

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

IndieHorrorPuzzleMysteryAdventureDetectiveOpen WorldStory RichAtmosphericExploration

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

LIMBODishonoredThe WitnessMurdered: Soul SuspectAmnesia: A Machine for PigsThe Cat LadyEnemy FrontSOMA

Similarity via IGDB.

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