# 1954 Alcatraz

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

- Steam appid: 255280
- Developer: Daedalic Entertainment
- Released: 2014 · Genre: Adventure · List price: $9.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.1k to $1.7k per month (mid $1.4k)
- Opportunity score: $3.0k/month at x2.10 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 116.0k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $249.1k
- Review sentiment: 73% positive across 1936 reviews (1547 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 26.3 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 11.8 years
- Studio quiet across its whole catalog
- Last build shipped 11.9 years ago
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 11 sales in the last 12 months

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $2.6k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $2.2k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $2.0k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $1.4k |

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

7, 5, 3, 4, 6, 8, 14, 11, 12, 11, 3, 10, 6, 7, 9, 6, 6, 7, 6, 57, 30, 30, 15, 20

## Estimated acquisition range

$33.9k to $67.9k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $17.0k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

1954 Alcatraz is a point-and-click adventure set during a prison escape, developed by Daedalic Entertainment in 2014.

At $1.4k/mo residual revenue on $249k lifetime net, this 10-year-old title is generating modest but consistent cash with minimal maintenance. The 73% positive review score and active discount cadence (11 promotions in 12 months) suggest the game still holds niche appeal among adventure enthusiasts. However, Daedalic's fading studio status and 141 months since last dev engagement indicate this IP is dormant at source; acquisition would suit a publisher focused on catalog stabilization rather than active development.

- Most realistic play: acquisition
- Risk (tech): Point-and-click adventure using aging engine; compatibility and performance on modern OS versions may require maintenance.
- Risk (market): Genre is niche; elasticity of 0.76 suggests price cuts drive volume, but ceiling is low and audience is shrinking.
- Risk (other): Developer studio status is fading; transition of support, bug fixes, and future platform updates would fall entirely to acquirer.

Suggested first moves:
1. Pull full review corpus (1,547 Steam reviews) and conduct sentiment analysis on feature requests, bug reports, and replay value feedback to identify low-cost fixes that could lift retention.
2. Audit Daedalic's IP ownership and licensing terms; confirm clean title transfer and identify any residual obligations (engine licensing, art asset rights).
3. Model break-even on a 12-24 month hold: at $1.4k/mo residual and 0.76 elasticity, test whether modest pricing or bundling experiments could lift to $2.5k/mo without cannibalizing margin.

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/255280
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.