# Tomba! Special Edition

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

- Steam appid: 2851150
- Developer: Limited Run Games
- Released: 2024 · Genre: Action · List price: $19.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.9k to $2.9k per month (mid $2.4k)
- Opportunity score: $3.3k/month at x1.35 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 22.9k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $133.9k
- Review sentiment: 89% positive across 787 reviews (716 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 16.5 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 13 months
- Studio active elsewhere (6 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 13 months ago

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $4.4k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $3.8k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $3.4k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $2.4k |

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

254, 28, 37, 43, 22, 19, 16, 23, 36, 13, 16, 19, 14, 8, 20, 15, 26, 16, 18, 15, 23, 15, 7, 21

## Estimated acquisition range

$57.9k to $115.7k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $28.9k/year). Same error range applies.

## Markets by review language

- brazilian: 4% (game NOT localized in this language)
- french: 3%
- german: 3%
- english: 71%
- koreana: 0% (game NOT localized in this language)
- russian: 3% (game NOT localized in this language)
- spanish: 15%
- japanese: 1%

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Tomba! Special Edition is a remastered port of the 1997 PS1 platformer-RPG hybrid, now on Steam with quality-of-life features like rewind and enhanced localization.

This title is quietly profitable at $2.4k/mo residual, sitting at 88.56% positive with zero promotional activity in 12 months. The core opportunity is not acquisition but strategic publishing support: a persistent audio bug is damaging retention despite strong nostalgic appetite, and the $19.99 price point appears misaligned with review sentiment around perceived steepness. For a publisher with live-service capacity or a studio seeking low-risk catalog IP, fixing the known bug and running seasonal discounts could unlock a materially larger residual stream without major dev investment.

- Most realistic play: publishing
- Risk (tech): Unresolved audio corruption bug (zone transitions triggering sustained tones) is explicitly cited as gamebreaking and likely suppressing word-of-mouth and repeat playthroughs.
- Risk (market): No discount promotions in 12 months despite elasticity of -1 suggests either publisher caution or lack of marketing bandwidth; at $19.99 full price, friction vs. perceived value remains high among price-sensitive retro audiences.
- Risk (other): Developer (Limited Run Games) is primarily a physical collectibles and publishing house, not a live-services studio; post-launch support may be constrained.

What players are asking for:
- Fix the persistent audio bug in zone transitions
- More frequent or deeper discounts to match perception of $19.99 as premium for a remaster
- Additional quality-of-life features building on successful rewind mechanic

Suggested first moves:
1. Commission a rapid bug audit and fix for the audio corruption on zone transitions; this single defect is likely responsible for 5-10% of negative reviews and churn.
2. Run a single 20-25% discount promotion to test price elasticity and community response; current zero-promotion track record suggests either lack of testing or deliberate restraint that may be leaving revenue on the table.
3. Analyze Brazilian Portuguese localization gaps (7.14% loc_gap, high review volume in Portuguese) and consider community-driven translation or cultural marketing to unlock a neighboring language market.

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/2851150
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.