# The Walking Dead: Season Two

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

- Steam appid: 261030
- Developer: Telltale Games
- Publisher: Skybound Games
- Released: 2013 · Genre: Adventure · List price: $14.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $8.6k to $12.9k per month (mid $10.8k)
- Opportunity score: $22.6k/month at x2.10 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 2.0M · Est. lifetime net revenue: $6.5M
- Review sentiment: 97% positive across 33926 reviews (26753 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 133.5 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 12.2 years
- Studio active elsewhere (6 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 9.9 years ago
- Store page localized in only 1 language(s)
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 7 sales in the last 12 months
- Proven demand elasticity: x1.3 review velocity during past deep sales

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $19.5k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $17.0k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $15.4k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $10.8k |

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

199, 199, 159, 244, 253, 195, 125, 160, 142, 111, 339, 238, 192, 101, 234, 254, 237, 229, 121, 209, 124, 91, 92, 164

## Estimated acquisition range

$258.1k to $516.2k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $129.0k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A narrative adventure following Clementine through a post-apocalyptic zombie world, built on The Walking Dead IP with player-driven story branching.

Season Two remains a quiet cash engine generating $10.7k/mo on minimal marketing spend, with a 96.6% positive rating and devoted replay audience despite being 11 years old. The title is anchored to licensed IP (AMC's The Walking Dead), making acquisition of the game alone infeasible, but represents a valuable case study in sustained narrative-game monetization and suggests strong IP steward potential for a publisher willing to consolidate the Telltale back catalog under unified management.

- Most realistic play: licensing
- Licensed IP: the game is built on third-party intellectual property
- Risk (licensed_ip): Game rights likely held by AMC Networks / Skybound Games; any acquisition or revival would require renegotiation of The Walking Dead licensing agreement, which may be expired or prohibitively expensive.
- Risk (tech): Game built on deprecated Telltale engine; no developer updates in 146 months suggests technical debt and potential compatibility issues on modern platforms.
- Risk (market): Narrative adventure genre has contracted since 2013; player base is primarily nostalgic repeat purchasers rather than new audience growth.

What players are asking for:
- Remaster or port to current consoles (players report 100+ plays on older platforms)
- Complete series bundle or clarification on canonical sequels (Season 3, 4 confusion)
- Quality-of-life improvements (accessibility, controller support)
- Lore expansion or side stories featuring fan-favorite characters like Kenny

Suggested first moves:
1. Map full Telltale Walking Dead estate: confirm Skybound's ownership stake, AMC's licensing window, and whether Season 1-5 rights are held uniformly or fragmented across publishers.
2. Model console/mobile port ROI: test appetite for $14.99 re-release on Switch or current-gen, targeting console replay audience (133.5 reviews/mo suggests active rediscovery).
3. Explore narrative merchandise or transmedia licensing: player emotional attachment (crying on replay, character quotations) suggests tie-in potential beyond gaming (audio drama, graphic novel continuation).

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/261030
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.