# Wanted: Dead

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

- Steam appid: 1981610
- Developer: Soleil Ltd.
- Publisher: Viv's Final Day Off Ltd
- Released: 2023 · Genre: Action · List price: $29.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $2.2k to $3.3k per month (mid $2.8k)
- Opportunity score: $4.4k/month at x1.60 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 43.3k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $323.5k
- Review sentiment: 66% positive across 2110 reviews (1352 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 14.8 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 2.4 years
- Studio active elsewhere (2 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 3 months ago

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $5.0k |
| 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)

20, 28, 24, 11, 38, 35, 40, 27, 13, 9, 23, 24, 16, 12, 31, 8, 21, 37, 9, 9, 15, 13, 17, 26

## Estimated acquisition range

$66.6k to $133.1k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $33.3k/year). Same error range applies.

## Markets by review language

- english: 77%
- koreana: 0% (game NOT localized in this language)
- japanese: 3% (game NOT localized in this language)
- schinese: 4% (game NOT localized in this language)
- german: 3%
- russian: 6% (game NOT localized in this language)
- spanish: 3%
- brazilian: 3% (game NOT localized in this language)
- french: 2%

Localization gap: 16% of measured reviews are written in languages the game does not support (top: russian). Localizing is likely immediate market expansion.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A stylistically chaotic 2023 action game blending gun and sword combat with bizarre minigames, tonal whiplash, and deliberate jank.

Wanted: Dead has found a devoted niche audience (65.8% positive, 14.8 reviews/mo after 28 months dormant) that recognizes its design philosophy: intentional roughness paired with mechanical depth and memorable weirdness. At $2.8k/mo residual revenue on a $30 price point, the title is too small for traditional publisher interest but represents a cult-revival candidate for a focused revival campaign (discount, community communication, NG+ content) or acquisition by a studio valuing character and cult followings over polish metrics.

- Most realistic play: revival
- Risk (market): Store-page AI-asset replacement violated Steam ToS and damaged early trust; reputational risk remains if acquisition is perceived as silencing accountability.
- Risk (tech): Crashes and checkpoint placement inconsistencies cited in reviews; technical debt may require remedial work to unlock broader audience.
- Risk (other): Game is intentionally difficult and divisive by design; mass-market appeal is capped and any "accessibility patch" risks alienating the dedicated playerbase.

What players are asking for:
- Checkpoint balancing and ammo scarcity clarification (4+ players cited arbitrary checkpoint placement and gun-ammo economy as frustrating)
- Difficulty toggle without full restart (at least one player refused to continue after hitting unfair spikes)
- Crash fixes and stability improvements (at least one player stopped playing due to CTD)
- Documentation of combat flow and mechanics (multiple players struggled with controls before "clicking" on later playthroughs)

Suggested first moves:
1. Commission a 20-30 min 'mechanical intro' video (or in-game tutorial checkpoint) from a respected action-game educator (e.g., The Electric Underground, who is cited by fans as understanding the design) to post on the store page and social media; this closes the 'terrible controls' narrative within the first hour.
2. Run a limited $15-19 discount campaign (elasticity -1 suggests price insensitivity, but community explicitly says 'get it on a discount'; test whether residual revenue increases to $4.4k/mo at lower price tier given current $2.8k/mo baseline).
3. Audit checkpoint and ammo scarcity logic with dev; if changes are low-effort, issue a balance patch with a 'community-requested tuning' post; if not, acknowledge the design philosophy in a public dev note to reframe jank as intentional and set expectations for new buyers.

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/1981610
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.