# Amnesia: The Dark Descent

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

- Steam appid: 57300
- Developer: Frictional Games
- Released: 2010 · Genre: Action · List price: $19.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $7.7k to $11.6k per month (mid $9.6k)
- Opportunity score: $12.5k/month at x1.30 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 1.5M · Est. lifetime net revenue: $6.5M
- Review sentiment: 95% positive across 35590 reviews (20287 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 89.8 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer active, last post 9 months ago
- Studio active elsewhere (6 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 34 months ago
- 43% of reviews come from key activations (excluded from revenue estimates)
- 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 | $17.5k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $15.2k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $13.8k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $9.6k |

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

86, 69, 91, 95, 123, 367, 131, 153, 114, 108, 119, 107, 98, 93, 115, 109, 147, 143, 95, 107, 85, 89, 80, 83

## Estimated acquisition range

$231.6k to $463.2k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $115.8k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a 2010 first-person psychological horror game built on resource scarcity and atmospheric dread rather than combat.

A 16-year-old title that still generates $9,650/mo in residual revenue on a 94.6% positive rating, with 1.5M lifetime units sold and sustained player engagement (90 reviews per month). The game's core design, helplessness, sound design, adaptive AI, remains a template in horror. However, its quiet revenue and zero recent developer communication suggest neither active cultivation nor abandonment; this is a mature, stable catalog asset worth watching for revival opportunities or IP licensing if ownership structures change.

- Most realistic play: watch
- Risk (market): Current 90% discount ($1.99) trains users away from full-price monetization and inflates key-reseller share (43%), making price recovery difficult.
- Risk (tech): 34 months since last build; no dev communication in 8.6 months raises questions about engine maintenance, platform certification and multiplayer service continuity.
- Risk (other): Player reviews note the second half loses scares and Hard Mode is a tedious resource-gating exercise, limiting engagement for veterans and suggesting design debt.

What players are asking for:
- Clarification on Hard Mode tuning: players report it removes threat rather than increasing challenge
- Recognition of the game's influence on modern horror (Outlast, The Bunker)
- Community acknowledgment that this is a required playthrough for horror genre literacy

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit IP rights clarity and determine whether Frictional Games holds full perpetual ownership; if clear, consider a limited revival campaign (remaster, Switch port, or VR edition) to reset price positioning and capture the 'gateway horror' audience.
2. Analyze the 43% key-reseller channel: negotiate return to direct pricing or implement regional/seasonal discounting that protects MSRP and reduces gray-market cannibalization.
3. Commission a post-mortem with Frictional on why development communication ceased; establish a low-cost content roadmap (making-of, developer commentary, cosmetic cosmetic mods) to sustain 90+ reviews/month and demonstrate active stewardship to potential acquirers.

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/57300
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.