# Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter

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

- Steam appid: 350640
- Developer: Frogwares
- Released: 2016 · Genre: Action · List price: $29.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $6.4k to $9.6k per month (mid $8.0k)
- Opportunity score: $12.0k/month at x1.50 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 781.6k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $5.0M
- Review sentiment: 80% positive across 14454 reviews (12024 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 49.8 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer active, last post 1 months ago
- Studio active elsewhere (13 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 5.3 years ago
- Last discounted 0 months ago, 10 sales in the last 12 months

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $14.6k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $12.7k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $11.5k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $8.0k |

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

69, 75, 74, 60, 62, 81, 55, 41, 40, 40, 38, 42, 78, 41, 60, 46, 38, 91, 39, 55, 42, 49, 70, 44

## Estimated acquisition range

$192.7k to $385.5k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $96.4k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A 2016 detective adventure where players solve cases as Sherlock Holmes using deduction mechanics and mind-palace puzzles.

Devil's Daughter remains a steady earner at $8,031/mo residual revenue with 79.7% positive reviews and strong lifetime performance ($5.04M net, 781K units), making it a profitable quiet catalog title. The core detective gameplay and supernatural overarching narrative have durable appeal, though the franchise's repetitive mechanics and medium production values limit mainstream breakthrough potential. For a publisher holding Frogwares IP, this represents proven back-catalog economics; for a third party, acquisition of the title alone is feasible since Frogwares retains publishing rights, but revival would require addressing ultrawide/resolution bugs and case-length pacing complaints rather than mechanical overhaul.

- Most realistic play: acquisition
- Risk (tech): Player reports confirm critical ultrawide display and resolution-selection bugs that block play on modern setups, suggesting poor ongoing maintenance.
- Risk (market): Community consensus favors predecessor Crimes & Punishments; Devil's Daughter is seen as lateral or slight downgrade, limiting growth ceiling.
- Risk (other): 8-year-old engine and asset base may require significant investment to refresh for contemporary hardware and player expectations.

What players are asking for:
- Technical fixes for ultrawide/ultrawide resolution support and missing UI options
- Longer, more substantial cases and investigations (comparison to Crimes & Punishments shows 7.5h vs 13.5h playtime)
- Reduction of mandatory minigame segments (chimney climbing, stealth sections) that interrupt detective flow

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit and patch display/resolution bugs (ultrawide broken state is a hard blocker); assess cost of porting to contemporary graphics middle-ware.
2. Analyze case length and pacing data to identify which investigations drive positive sentiment; consider releasing a quality-focused 'curated edition' bundling strongest cases.
3. Run A/B testing on bundling Devil's Daughter with Crimes & Punishments at a discount to reposition it as 'complete duology' and recover velocity from players who skipped the sequel.

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/350640
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.