# Gone Home

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

- Steam appid: 232430
- Developer: Fullbright
- Released: 2013 · Genre: Adventure · List price: $14.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $2.6k to $4.0k per month (mid $3.3k)
- Opportunity score: $5.0k/month at x1.50 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 1.0M · Est. lifetime net revenue: $3.3M
- Review sentiment: 77% positive across 18427 reviews (13599 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 41.0 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer active, last post 2 months ago
- Studio active elsewhere (2 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 6.5 years ago
- Last discounted 0 months ago, 12 sales in the last 12 months
- Proven demand elasticity: x1.4 review velocity during past deep sales

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $6.0k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $5.2k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $4.7k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $3.3k |

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

28, 29, 28, 46, 73, 44, 26, 26, 30, 34, 28, 33, 29, 94, 50, 42, 51, 49, 25, 25, 36, 47, 66, 47

## Estimated acquisition range

$79.3k to $158.5k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $39.6k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A narrative exploration game set entirely within a single house, where players piece together a family mystery through environmental storytelling.

Gone Home remains a quiet earner at $3.3k/mo residual despite launching over 6 years ago and seeing minimal recent dev activity. The title defined the walking-simulator genre and retains a 77% positive rating with steady review volume (41/mo). For a publisher or IP holder seeking a proven narrative asset with multi-platform history (PS4, Switch confirmed in reviews) and near-zero service costs, this is a low-friction acquisition candidate. The main limiting factor is a price perception problem: players explicitly flag $14.99 as unjustifiable for a 3-5 hour experience, yet the game sustains sales through deep discounting (26% key resale) and word-of-mouth on sale.

- Most realistic play: acquisition
- Risk (market): Severe price-perception ceiling: multiple reviews cite $15 as 'crazy' and recommend purchase only at <$3, limiting full-price revenue upside despite healthy elasticity (1.44).
- Risk (tech): Ambient bug reports surface (achievement pop failures), suggesting dormant codebase may require maintenance investment before major platform ports or re-launches.
- Risk (market): Genre fatigue and narrative divisiveness: negative reviews criticize the central plot reveal as anticlimactic and the mystery framing as misleading marketing.

What players are asking for:
- Price alignment: $5-8 ceiling rather than $14.99 to match content length perception.
- Gameplay depth: optional puzzle interactivity or investigative agency to justify 'mystery' framing.
- Technical polish: fix achievement unlock bugs and improve low-light navigation frustration.

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit technical debt and platform certification requirements for Switch/PS4/console re-certification; low dev-post frequency (last update ~2 mo ago) suggests maintenance-mode operation.
2. Stress-test a permanent $7.99 price tier with A/B testing on regional storefronts to resolve the price-elasticity-vs.-volume trade-off; current $3.3k/mo may be artificially suppressed by MSRP anchoring.
3. Explore episodic or expanded-universe narrative IP licensing (documentary, anthology, prequel) to monetize the franchise beyond the core game without demanding new gameplay systems.

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/232430
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.