# Call of the Wild: The Angler™

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

- Steam appid: 1408610
- Developer: Expansive Worlds
- Publisher: Avalanche Studios
- Released: 2022 · Genre: Adventure · List price: $29.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $4.8k to $7.2k per month (mid $6.0k)
- Opportunity score: $9.9k/month at x1.65 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 195.4k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $1.5M
- Review sentiment: 64% positive across 7590 reviews (6107 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 32.2 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 19 months
- Studio active elsewhere (2 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 21 months ago

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $10.9k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $9.5k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $8.6k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $6.0k |

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

68, 61, 63, 75, 89, 91, 46, 36, 32, 41, 72, 45, 33, 40, 32, 23, 34, 31, 28, 25, 34, 23, 41, 42

## Estimated acquisition range

$144.3k to $288.6k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $72.2k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A premium fishing simulation built on realistic physics and atmospheric map design, published by Avalanche Studios in 2022.

Call of the Wild: The Angler holds $1.46M in lifetime net revenue across 195K units at $29.99 price point, with 63.9% positive sentiment and residual income of $6,013/mo. The core gap is update silence: players explicitly note missing content and no developer communication in 19+ months. For a publisher or live-service operator, this represents a low-risk recovery play, as the foundation is solid and the niche audience is underserved. For Avalanche or a fishing-game specialist, restoring a single meaningful content drop or seasonal roadmap could reactivate the dormant 150+ hour cohort without major engineering lift.

- Most realistic play: revival
- Risk (market): Fishing as a genre skews heavily toward free-to-play and mobile; premium $29.99 positioning limits addressable market size.
- Risk (other): 19-month silence on updates and no recent developer communication (last post 19.4 months ago) signals internal deprioritization; revival cost and ROI unclear.
- Risk (tech): No discount history and zero sales tracked in trailing 12 months suggest either platform tracking gaps or genuine sales cliff; verification needed before acquisition.

What players are asking for:
- Regular content updates and new fishing locations/species
- Transparent developer roadmap and communication cadence
- Seasonal or live events to encourage recurring play
- Bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements (implied by 'potential' language)

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit Avalanche's engineering capacity and IP ownership rights to confirm whether revival is internal, licensing, or outright acquisition.
2. Conduct cohort analysis on the 150+ hour players to isolate engagement drivers (relaxation, competitive progression, specific maps) and design minimum-viable content roadmap.
3. Validate sales and revenue data independently; zero 12-month sales conflicts with $6k/mo residual estimate and warrants clarification before 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/1408610
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.