# Hidden Folks

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

- Steam appid: 435400
- Developer: Hidden Folks
- Released: 2017 · Genre: Adventure · List price: $14.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.2k to $1.8k per month (mid $1.5k)
- Opportunity score: $2.2k/month at x1.50 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 418.0k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $1.3M
- Review sentiment: 97% positive across 9539 reviews (7600 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 18.2 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer active, last post 2 months ago
- Last build shipped 6.3 years ago
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 7 sales in the last 12 months

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $2.7k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $2.3k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $2.1k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $1.5k |

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

20, 22, 16, 16, 28, 29, 23, 24, 21, 15, 16, 23, 20, 16, 18, 16, 16, 19, 12, 14, 28, 16, 17, 22

## Estimated acquisition range

$35.1k to $70.2k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $17.6k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A cozy hand-drawn search-and-find game with detailed pixel art, anthropomorphic characters, and no time pressure.

Hidden Folks has earned $1.35M lifetime on 418K units since 2017, generating $1,463/mo residual revenue with 96.7% positive reviews and 18 new reviews per month. The game remains profitable on a minimal support burden, appeals to a durable casual and audiobook-adjacent audience, and shows stable velocity with recent discounting (70% max, last deployed 1.4 months ago). Opportunity lies in light platform porting, regional pricing adjustments, or bundling with other discovery-friendly indie catalog titles rather than heavy-handed revival.

- Most realistic play: publishing
- Risk (market): Search-and-find is a crowded subgenre (Two Point Hospital, Wheres Waldo VR); differentiation is primarily art style and sound, both moat-light against competitors with larger marketing budgets.
- Risk (other): Single-studio, single-title publisher means no catalog synergies or leverage for distribution deals; growth depends entirely on outbound marketing spend.
- Risk (tech): Build is 75+ months old; forward compatibility and controller support on newer platforms (Switch 2, VR headsets) may require engineering investment not in the current roadmap.

What players are asking for:
- Mobile/iOS port (implied by 'listening to audiobooks' use case)
- Switch or console version for handheld play
- More levels or seasonal content updates
- Controller/gamepad support improvements

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit console (Switch, PS5) and mobile (iOS) localization and port scope; prioritize iOS given audiobook listener demographic overlap.
2. Model bundle opportunities with dormant but beloved indie titles of similar playstyle (e.g., Picross, A Short Hike adjacent), Hidden Folks' 23 languages and 96% rating are catalog lift assets.
3. Evaluate seasonal cosmetic roadmap (character skins, environment themes) as low-engineering-lift retention lever; developer's 2.5-month silence suggests capacity exists to ship small updates with light coordination.

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/435400
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.