# SpellRogue

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

- Steam appid: 1990110
- Developer: Guidelight Games
- Publisher: Ghost Ship Publishing
- Released: 2025 · Genre: Indie · List price: $19.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.5k to $2.3k per month (mid $1.9k)
- Opportunity score: $2.6k/month at x1.35 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 49.8k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $333.5k
- Review sentiment: 87% positive across 1632 reviews (1555 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 11.5 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 13 months
- Studio quiet across its whole catalog
- Last build shipped 13 months ago
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 9 sales in the last 12 months

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $3.5k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $3.0k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $2.8k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $1.9k |

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

22, 28, 25, 47, 40, 20, 15, 13, 133, 146, 85, 51, 61, 30, 24, 41, 23, 26, 15, 9, 10, 12, 12, 11

## Missed seasonal-sale revenue (modeled)

Skipped 2 Steam seasonal sale window(s) in the last 24 months. Running a -50% discount in those windows is modeled at +$5.6k net in total, assuming a unit uplift of x3.0 (industry-typical for old catalog titles). Same ±30-50% error range applies.

## Estimated acquisition range

$46.3k to $92.5k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $23.1k/year). Same error range applies.

## Markets by review language

- french: 4%
- koreana: 1%
- spanish: 2%
- brazilian: 1%
- german: 3%
- english: 70%
- russian: 4%
- japanese: 2%
- schinese: 12%

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A dice-driven spell engine-builder roguelike with minimalist design, ~50k lifetime units, earning $1.9k/mo residual.

SpellRogue has solid fundamentals: 87% positive reviews, 1k+ hours retention on record, and a clean design philosophy that players respect. At $1.9k/mo residual on a $20 price point, it's generating steady long-tail revenue despite developer radio silence for 13 months. The title is ripe for a small publishing refresh (seasonal content, balance passes, cross-promotion) or acquisition by a label seeking a quiet performer in the deck-builder / roguelike tier.

- Most realistic play: publishing
- Risk (tech): Solo-developer studio (Ghost Ship Publishing is the publisher, not Guidelight Games the listed dev) with no visible activity since month 13; engine and balance maintenance may be frozen.
- Risk (market): Deck-builder / roguelike market is saturated post-Slay the Spire; new content must compete with established franchises for attention.
- Risk (other): Multiplayer mode exists (per negative review) but is inactive; attempting to revive PvP could fracture the active single-player base.

What players are asking for:
- Endgame content or DLC for players with 1000+ hours
- Balance and meta-refresh for high-difficulty heroes (air, fire noted as complex)
- Online guides and matchmaking infrastructure

Suggested first moves:
1. Locate and contract the original developer or a maintenance studio to audit codebase, balance data, and player retention drivers; assess cost of a seasonal battle pass or cosmetic roadmap.
2. Survey top 20 by playtime (via Steam API or in-game telemetry) on pain points: ask directly whether they'd return for a balance patch, cosmetics, or async leaderboards.
3. Evaluate licensing the IP to a content creator or esports org to run community tournaments or guide content; use low-cost marketing to boost reviews_per_month from 11.5 and signal momentum to dormant players.

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/1990110
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.