# Grocery Store Simulator

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

- Steam appid: 2961880
- Developer: EXPERIMENT ONE
- Released: 2024 · Genre: Action · List price: $14.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $3.6k to $5.4k per month (mid $4.5k)
- Opportunity score: $6.0k/month at x1.35 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 170.3k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $746.3k
- Review sentiment: 91% positive across 6169 reviews (5322 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 40.8 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 16 months
- Studio active elsewhere (2 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 16 months ago
- Last discounted 0 months ago, 9 sales in the last 12 months

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $8.1k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $7.1k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $6.4k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $4.5k |

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

1434, 535, 368, 519, 319, 174, 115, 119, 227, 101, 84, 88, 58, 59, 55, 60, 49, 64, 48, 45, 35, 42, 39, 36

## Missed seasonal-sale revenue (modeled)

Skipped 4 Steam seasonal sale window(s) in the last 24 months. Running a -50% discount in those windows is modeled at +$46.1k net in total, assuming a unit uplift of x3.0 (industry-typical for old catalog titles). Same ±30-50% error range applies.

## Estimated acquisition range

$107.4k to $214.7k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $53.7k/year). Same error range applies.

## Markets by review language

- french: 3%
- english: 68%
- koreana: 1%
- russian: 12%
- japanese: 0%
- german: 12%
- spanish: 1%
- schinese: 1%
- brazilian: 1%

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A meditative supermarket-management simulator with satisfying shelf-stocking and store-building mechanics, launched in 2024 by EXPERIMENT ONE.

Grocery Store Simulator has generated $746k lifetime revenue on 170k units with a 91% positive review rate and $4.5k/mo residual income, despite zero developer engagement for 16 months. The community explicitly wants post-launch support and feature expansion (multiplayer refinement, new equipment, QoL updates). The studio appears stalled but IP remains unencumbered; a publishing partner or small studio revival could unlock 30-50% upside by fulfilling the visible content roadmap players are already asking for.

- Most realistic play: publishing
- Risk (tech): Zero post-launch patches in 16 months signals potential architecture or team constraints; multiplayer code quality and scalability unknown.
- Risk (market): Low elasticity (0.26) and fading studio status suggest audience saturation in the cozy-sim space; viral-moment dependency for growth.
- Risk (other): Developer has published at least one other title (Vape Store Miami per reviews); divided attention or pivot may indicate resource constraints, not abandonment.

What players are asking for:
- Resume development roadmap: multiplayer polish, new equipment/ceiling/lighting systems
- Regular content updates and feature parity across platforms
- QoL improvements and balance tuning to reduce repetition fatigue
- Bug fixes and stability refinement for extended play sessions

Suggested first moves:
1. Acquire publishing rights and negotiate IP transfer with EXPERIMENT ONE; confirm dev post-mortem and technical handover package (source, build configs, balance docs).
2. Audit multiplayer backend and roadmap prototype (new equipment, cosmetics, seasonal content) to validate $6k/mo opportunity ceiling and 6-month sprint scope.
3. Deploy one patch within 60 days (bug fixes, one new shelf type, multiplayer stability) and single developer AMA to re-signal support, then measure review lift and churn recovery.

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/2961880
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.