ResidualPlaybeta Open the radar

Natural Selection 2

Unknown Worlds Entertainment · 2012 · $4.99 · Action · deal grade B

Measured on 2026-10-04 18:21 UTC. The whole catalog is re-measured daily; a game that just launched can move fast between passes.

  • Estimated net residual revenue: $194 to $291 per month
  • Opportunity: $388 per month at x1.60 dormancy
  • Estimated lifetime owners: 648.0k
  • 85% positive across 13376 reviews · 9.0 reviews/month

Why it's flagged

  • Developer silent for 3.7 years
  • Studio active elsewhere (4 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
  • Last discounted 0 months ago, 4 sales in the last 12 months

Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Note written 2026-09-18; the live figures above take precedence over any numbers in it.

Natural Selection 2 is a hybrid RTS-FPS team game set in the Subnautica universe where one commander directs squad tactics from overhead while infantry engage in asymmetrical PvP combat.

NS2 holds steady residual revenue with a small but genuinely engaged core audience and remarkable structural durability: 85% positive sentiment, 12-hour median playtime, and no deep discounting in over a year signal a title that found its niche and has held it. The primary opportunity is not revival of a dormant game, but rather licensing or lore partnership with Unknown Worlds Entertainment around the Subnautica IP connection, plus potential greenlight of community-curated content or modding tooling to deepen stickiness without requiring studio engineering overhead. Most realistic play: licensing.

  • Risk: NS2 resides in the Subnautica fictional universe owned by Unknown Worlds; any expansion, revival campaign, or IP crossover requires publisher sign-off and IP alignment with Subnautica and Below Zero roadmaps.
  • Risk: Playerbase is small and stable rather than growing; new-player onboarding friction is a documented pain point that acquisition capital alone will not solve without live service investment or tutorial redesign.
  • Risk: Game depends on server health and matchmaking; player count of 59 concurrent is sustainable for niche asymmetrical games but requires permanent hosting commitment.

This case as Markdown · Estimates carry ±30-50% error per title.