# Move or Die

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

- Steam appid: 323850
- Developer: Xelu
- Publisher: Those Awesome Guys
- Released: 2016 · Genre: Action · List price: $14.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.7k to $2.5k per month (mid $2.1k)
- Opportunity score: $4.0k/month at x1.90 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 1.1M · Est. lifetime net revenue: $3.4M
- Review sentiment: 89% positive across 23308 reviews (16473 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 26.2 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 2.4 years
- Studio quiet across its whole catalog
- Last build shipped 25 months ago
- Last discounted 0 months ago, 7 sales in the last 12 months
- Proven demand elasticity: x1.2 review velocity during past deep sales

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $3.8k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $3.3k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $3.0k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $2.1k |

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

53, 53, 37, 45, 74, 61, 63, 66, 28, 37, 37, 54, 44, 20, 31, 24, 53, 42, 28, 15, 24, 31, 26, 33

## Estimated acquisition range

$50.6k to $101.2k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $25.3k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Move or Die is a chaotic local multiplayer party game where players must keep moving or instantly die, released in 2016 by Xelu and Those Awesome Guys.

Move or Die has generated $3.45M lifetime on 1.07M units with a solid 89% positive rating, yet now earns only $2.1k/mo with minimal developer activity (no posts in 29 months). The game's core appeal remains intact: accessible couch co-op chaos with high replay value. This is a candidate for publishing revival or IP licensing to a studio with live-service ambition, though technical debt and a dormant code base present real friction.

- Most realistic play: publishing
- Risk (tech): Reports of performance crashes and frame-rate drops; 29 months without developer engagement suggests codebase may need modernization for current platform requirements.
- Risk (multiplayer): Game is local-only with no online play; online integration would require substantial development and could fragment the existing audience.
- Risk (market): Party game category is crowded; current $2.1k/mo revenue signals market saturation or player migration to newer titles with online features.

What players are asking for:
- Online multiplayer or cross-platform support to play with remote friends
- Performance optimization and crash fixes
- New character skins and cosmetics
- Steam Deck / modern OS compatibility confirmation

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit codebase for technical debt, platform compliance (Proton/Deck), and crash vectors before committing to acquisition.
2. Survey the existing Discord/social channels to quantify appetite for online play or cosmetic battle pass, which could justify 12-18 month revival campaign.
3. Benchmark against Jackbox, Overcooked 2, and Gang Beasts to model whether $2-5k/mo passive revenue justifies acquisition cost or if licensing to a live-service studio with multiplayer infrastructure makes better ROI.

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/323850
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.