# Fun with Ragdolls: The Game

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

- Steam appid: 1142500
- Developer: Jadon Barnes
- Publisher: Fun & Simple
- Released: 2019 · Genre: Action · List price: $14.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.8k to $2.6k per month (mid $2.2k)
- Opportunity score: $4.6k/month at x2.10 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 179.2k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $577.4k
- Review sentiment: 88% positive across 5181 reviews (4480 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 27.3 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 3.3 years
- Studio active elsewhere (2 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 6.0 years ago
- Store page localized in only 1 language(s)
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 1 sales in the last 12 months

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $4.0k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $3.5k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $3.1k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $2.2k |

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

51, 24, 37, 26, 38, 34, 17, 41, 26, 36, 36, 35, 29, 25, 18, 30, 34, 34, 21, 23, 42, 33, 21, 24

## Estimated acquisition range

$52.8k to $105.7k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $26.4k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Physics-based action game built around ragdoll mechanics and environmental destruction, designed for casual experimentation and creative failure.

Fun with Ragdolls has sustained 88% positive sentiment and $2.2k/mo residual revenue on $577k lifetime net across 179k units, despite developer inactivity for 40 months. The 1,412-hour outlier and consistent 27 reviews/month signal a quiet but loyal audience hungry for content expansion (minigames, new mechanics). Acquisition makes sense only if paired with a publishing revitalization play, since solo monetization upside is constrained by $15 price point and 72-month age; the real opportunity is audience unlock via marketing refresh and feature roadmap reinstatement.

- Most realistic play: publishing
- Risk (market): Physics-sandbox genre saturated; differentiation from Goat Simulator, TABS, and House Flipper already narrowed by legacy release date and feature parity freeze.
- Risk (tech): Six-year-old codebase (72 months since build) on unknown engine; modernization cost for console ports or engine upgrade may exceed residual revenue lift.
- Risk (other): Studio status listed as inactive; IP ownership and code/asset access terms with Jadon Barnes (solo dev) and Fun & Simple (publisher) must be clarified before deal closure.

What players are asking for:
- Minigames and structured content modes beyond sandbox freeplay
- Performance optimization (lag reports in negative reviews)
- New physics mechanics, destruction systems, or environment themes
- Multiplayer or social sharing features

Suggested first moves:
1. Acquire code and IP rights; audit engine version, dependency chain, and console-port feasibility to scope revival cost-to-revenue ratio.
2. Conduct cohort analysis of the 1,412-hour outlier and 27 recent reviewers to validate audience size and willingness to pay for cosmetics, minigame DLC, or battle-pass progression.
3. Develop 6-month roadmap (minigames, performance patches, TikTok/YouTube creator kit) and soft-launch with marketing spend ($5k-10k) to measure elasticity before full publishing commitment.

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/1142500
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.