# Super Dark Deception

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

- Steam appid: 2193720
- Developer: Glowstick Entertainment
- Released: 2024 · Genre: Action · List price: $17.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $3.5k to $5.2k per month (mid $4.3k)
- Opportunity score: $6.9k/month at x1.60 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 20.5k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $107.7k
- Review sentiment: 66% positive across 674 reviews (640 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 33.0 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 2.1 years
- Studio active elsewhere (2 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 0 months ago
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 10 sales in the last 12 months
- Proven demand elasticity: x5.5 review velocity during past deep sales

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $7.9k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $6.9k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $6.2k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $4.3k |

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

60, 26, 22, 16, 24, 15, 8, 8, 7, 4, 11, 10, 11, 5, 7, 1, 3, 4, 4, 3, 7, 1, 122, 61

## Missed seasonal-sale revenue (modeled)

Skipped 3 Steam seasonal sale window(s) in the last 24 months. Running a -50% discount in those windows is modeled at +$6.2k net in total, assuming a unit uplift of x5.5 taken from this game's own sale history. Same ±30-50% error range applies.

## Estimated acquisition range

$104.1k to $208.3k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $52.1k/year). Same error range applies.

## Markets by review language

- russian: 15%
- schinese: 31%
- brazilian: 3%
- german: 1%
- spanish: 4%
- japanese: 1%
- french: 1%
- english: 42%
- koreana: 2%

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Super Dark Deception is a 2024 action platformer with pixel art aesthetics and multi-character gameplay that launched as a spiritual successor or expanded entry in an existing franchise.

The game demonstrates solid fundamentals (66% positive sentiment, 33 reviews/month, $4.3k/mo residual revenue) but is severely hampered by persistent technical bugs that dominate player feedback across all experience levels. For a publisher or studio with QA capacity and franchise stewardship, stabilizing the codebase could unlock the $7k/mo opportunity gap; the franchise familiarity and 11-language localization suggest international appeal worth defending. This is a salvage play, not a growth acquisition.

- Most realistic play: publishing
- Risk (tech): Multiple save-loss, enemy AI, and progression-blocking bugs are explicitly cited by engaged players (12-38h playtime); current developer has not posted in ~25 months despite active sales, raising execution risk on fixes.
- Risk (market): High elasticity (5.47) and 10 discounts in 12 months suggest price sensitivity and potential customer acquisition cost pressure; mainstream adoption remains low.
- Risk (other): Developer studio status shows 'operating' but 2 titles only and silent for 25 months; unclear whether internal bandwidth exists to address the bug backlog independently.

What players are asking for:
- Fix save-loss and auto-save corruption across Deadly Decadence and Chapter 2 levels 6-8
- Resolve enemy pathfinding (stuck in corners, behind doors)
- Loosen S-Rank difficulty requirements for mid-game levels (4-8)
- Unblock progression gates (portal teleportation bug in Deadly Decadence)

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit the codebase for save serialization, collision/pathfinding, and level-entry state machine issues; prioritize Deadly Decadence and Chapter 2 L6-8 regressions.
2. Engage Glowstick Entertainment or offer contract QA/engineering support; 25-month silence suggests resource constraints, not abandonment of the title.
3. Run a small post-patch promotional push (retarget existing buyers, modest discount) to convert goodwill into reviews and reset the residual revenue baseline once stability is confirmed.

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/2193720
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.