# Detention

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

- Steam appid: 555220
- Developer: RedCandleGames
- Released: 2017 · Genre: Adventure · List price: $11.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.9k to $2.9k per month (mid $2.4k)
- Opportunity score: $5.0k/month at x2.10 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 569.6k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $1.5M
- Review sentiment: 96% positive across 11799 reviews (10356 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 37.0 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 8.2 years
- Studio active elsewhere (2 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 5.7 years ago
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 6 sales in the last 12 months
- Proven demand elasticity: x1.7 review velocity during past deep sales

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $4.3k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $3.8k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $3.4k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $2.4k |

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

29, 22, 37, 37, 54, 34, 28, 47, 23, 26, 30, 81, 27, 27, 70, 46, 38, 69, 30, 39, 39, 28, 30, 56

## Estimated acquisition range

$57.2k to $114.4k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $28.6k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A 2017 Taiwanese survival-horror point-and-click adventure about political oppression and personal grief set during the 1960s White Terror.

Detention sits in an unusual position: 95.7% positive reviews, $1.47M lifetime revenue, and still generating $2.4K/mo with minimal active marketing (last dev post 98 months ago). The game has carved out a dedicated niche audience around literary horror and East Asian storytelling, but remains invisible to mainstream buyers. For a publisher or studio with appetite for quiet IP that doesn't require live-service overhead, the combination of critical acclaim, repeat sales velocity (24-month pattern shows consistent 20-80 unit monthly movement), and near-zero competition in its specific subgenre makes this a low-risk catalog addition or localization expansion play.

- Most realistic play: acquisition
- Risk (market): Niche genre (literary horror, point-and-click) and culturally specific narrative (1960s Taiwan) limit mainstream appeal and expansion audience.
- Risk (tech): 68+ months post-launch with no reported updates; engine compatibility and platform maintenance on older middleware may require technical audit.
- Risk (other): Developer radio silence (98 months since last public post) suggests hands-off posture; acquisition value depends on whether RedCandleGames retains active stewardship or hands off entirely.

What players are asking for:
- Deeper puzzle complexity (players note front-loaded story rewards puzzle-solving less than atmosphere)
- Localization into additional Asian languages beyond current 5
- Clarification of lore and symbolism (players report needing external guides to fully parse narrative)

Suggested first moves:
1. Commission a technical audit of engine and platform support (UE4 version check, shader compatibility on current Windows/Mac/Linux runtimes) to estimate maintenance burden.
2. Evaluate RedCandleGames' bandwidth and interest in active partnership (interviews, modest post-launch content, marketing collaboration) versus clean IP acquisition; existing dev goodwill is a soft asset.
3. Develop a localization roadmap (Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Vietnamese) and A/B test regional pricing on existing $11.99 baseline; elasticity of 1.71 suggests modest upside if friction removed.

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/555220
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.