# The Suicide of Rachel Foster

> ResidualPlay case file: an overlooked Steam game still earning residual revenue. Estimates carry a ±30-50% error range per title.

- Steam appid: 1057750
- Developer: ONE-O-ONE GAMES
- Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
- Released: 2020 · Genre: Adventure · List price: $17.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $2.2k to $3.4k per month (mid $2.8k)
- Opportunity score: $5.9k/month at x2.10 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 159.0k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $614.8k
- Review sentiment: 68% positive across 6885 reviews (5300 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 29.0 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 4.3 years
- Studio inactive: no public activity across 1 tracked titles
- Last build shipped 4.3 years ago
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 11 sales in the last 12 months
- Proven demand elasticity: x1.4 review velocity during past deep sales

## Where a gross dollar goes (monthly, at current velocity)

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $5.1k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $4.4k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $4.0k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $2.8k |

## Monthly review counts, oldest to newest (24 months)

36, 42, 101, 42, 60, 56, 23, 34, 24, 31, 37, 31, 24, 27, 71, 31, 35, 32, 21, 37, 19, 31, 30, 36

## Estimated acquisition range

$67.3k to $134.6k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $33.6k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A first-person narrative adventure set in an abandoned hotel where players uncover dark family secrets through environmental exploration and dialogue.

Rachel Foster has generated $614k lifetime revenue on modest sales (159k units) and still earns $2.8k/mo, indicating durable interest in atmospheric narrative experiences. However, the title faces genuine content-related friction: player reviews consistently flag narrative pacing issues, bugs requiring chapter replays, and deeply uncomfortable thematic choices around predatory relationships that were never adequately justified by the story. The game is not overlooked so much as polarizing; a revival would require either significant narrative reframing or acceptance that the audience ceiling is capped by design. Best suited for a catalog buyer seeking quiet performers, not a publisher betting on growth.

- Most realistic play: watch
- Risk (market): Core narrative themes around predatory relationships and abuse have alienated a material portion of players and generated negative word-of-mouth that likely constrains future sales velocity.
- Risk (tech): Multiple reviews cite bugs requiring full chapter replays with no skip function, suggesting technical debt that would need remediation to unlock positive reception on re-release.
- Risk (other): Developer (ONE-O-ONE Games) shows no recent activity (51 months since last post); studio status is inactive, raising questions about available support for patches or director commentary that might recontextualize the narrative.

What players are asking for:
- Ability to sprint or move faster through environments (walking speed feedback across multiple reviews)
- Skip or chapter-select function to avoid replaying content after bugs
- Clearer narrative justification or moral clarity around the adult-child relationship subplot

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit the narrative design and developer intent behind the predatory-relationship subplot; determine if reframing, added context, or content warnings could broaden appeal without gutting story authenticity.
2. Map the $2.8k/mo revenue to geographic and player-segment cohorts (via Steam spy patterns) to understand whether core audience is genre-loyal despite criticism or declining steadily.
3. For acquisition: negotiate with Daedalic Entertainment (publisher) on IP ownership and developer contact; clarify whether ONE-O-ONE Games retains any approval rights or if a clean acquisition is feasible.

Generated 2026-08-20 from public signals and player reviews. Directional, not diligence.

## Methodology

Units are estimated from Steam-purchase reviews times a release-cohort multiplier (Boxleiter method, 20-75x by year). Revenue uses an effective price (lifetime discounts and regional pricing) and nets out VAT (~13%), refunds (~9.5%) and Steam's 30% cut: roughly 55% of gross reaches the developer.

Source: https://residualplay.com/game/1057750
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.