# Ship Graveyard Simulator

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

- Steam appid: 1286880
- Developer: Games Incubator
- Released: 2021 · Genre: Action · List price: $14.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.6k to $2.4k per month (mid $2.0k)
- Opportunity score: $3.0k/month at x1.50 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 66.4k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $248.1k
- Review sentiment: 64% positive across 2282 reviews (2074 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 21.5 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer active, last post 0 months ago
- Studio active elsewhere (16 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 3.4 years ago
- Last discounted 0 months ago, 12 sales in the last 12 months
- Proven demand elasticity: x1.7 review velocity during past deep sales

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $3.6k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $3.2k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $2.9k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $2.0k |

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

21, 11, 12, 22, 21, 98, 31, 45, 28, 10, 25, 30, 25, 90, 37, 20, 25, 26, 27, 21, 22, 13, 26, 20

## Estimated acquisition range

$48.2k to $96.4k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $24.1k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A ship-scrapping idle-action game where players demolish vessels, harvest materials, and upgrade equipment across increasingly varied locations.

Ship Graveyard Simulator is generating $2,009/mo residual revenue on a $14.99 asking price, with 64% positive sentiment and steady 21.5 reviews/mo engagement. The core loop is sound and players log 20-100+ hours, but UI bugs, progression bottlenecks, and repetition ceiling are suppressing both retention and word-of-mouth. A focused technical pass on the upgrade system, item stacking, and collision detection, paired with modest content expansion (new ship types, locations, demolition methods), could unlock meaningfully higher LTV without requiring engine overhaul or new IP licensing.

- Most realistic play: revival
- Risk (tech): UI upgrade system is currently broken (selections show wrong values), making some upgrades unobtainable and corrupting player progression logic.
- Risk (market): Core gameplay loop admits rapid repetition; players report hitting boredom ceiling within 20-50 hours despite continued play, limiting organic expansion of session length.
- Risk (other): Progress-wipe crashes are reported; data persistence may be fragile, particularly at save handoff or on specific hardware configurations.

What players are asking for:
- Fix UI selection/upgrade mapping so all upgrades are accessible and display correctly
- Add more ship types and demolition environments to reduce repetition
- Improve item stacking and inventory management UX
- Add more buildings or location variety within graveyard

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit upgrade UI system end-to-end: map all upgrade selections to correct display and effect application, then push a stability patch within 2-4 weeks to rebuild player trust and reduce churn.
2. Design 3-5 new ship archetypes and 2 new location biomes (underwater wreck, Arctic site, industrial zone) to stretch mid-game pacing and justify 'return to break' player sentiment into sustained campaigns.
3. Implement item bulk-select, drag-sort, and auto-stack features to reduce friction in progression grind, then measure session length and session-to-session return rates against patch-0 baseline.

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/1286880
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.