# Door Kickers: Action Squad

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

- Steam appid: 686200
- Developer: PixelShard
- Publisher: KillHouse Games
- Released: 2018 · Genre: Action · List price: $13.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.8k to $2.7k per month (mid $2.2k)
- Opportunity score: $4.7k/month at x2.10 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 438.4k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $1.3M
- Review sentiment: 95% positive across 10595 reviews (8768 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 29.8 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 4.9 years
- Studio inactive: no public activity across 1 tracked titles
- Last build shipped 4.7 years ago

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $4.1k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $3.5k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $3.2k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $2.2k |

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

30, 31, 26, 30, 50, 46, 78, 56, 28, 34, 24, 54, 32, 45, 42, 14, 28, 37, 23, 32, 29, 28, 41, 26

## Estimated acquisition range

$53.8k to $107.7k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $26.9k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A fast-paced 2D tactical action game where players lead SWAT teams through procedural missions as one of six role-based operatives.

Door Kickers: Action Squad has generated $1.3M lifetime on modest volume (438k units) with a 94.7% positive rating and steady $2.2k/mo residual revenue despite zero discounting and no developer activity in 58+ months. The title's strong fundamentals, compact scope, and tactical-arcade hybrid appeal make it a solid acquisition candidate for publishers seeking profitable back-catalog IP or a platform for spin-off or licensing opportunities. Risk: PixelShard is dormant (studio_status: ghost) and the single-title studio means no ongoing support pipeline.

- Most realistic play: acquisition
- Risk (other): Developer PixelShard has been inactive for 58+ months; acquisition includes no active studio support, only code, assets and IP.
- Risk (market): Zero sales velocity over the past 12 months and no discount history suggest the title has reached a mature plateau; revival would require meaningful content or marketing investment.
- Risk (tech): Built on engines/tooling from 2018; platform compatibility, server infrastructure (if any) and dependency on deprecated SDKs require audit before porting or revival.

What players are asking for:
- New map/mission packs or procedural generation improvements
- Additional playable operator roles beyond the six
- Balance and quality-of-life updates (UI, difficulty tuning)
- Multiplayer or co-op modes

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit IP ownership chain (PixelShard → KillHouse Games) and secure full asset transfer, including source code, art and server logs if any backend exists.
2. Evaluate $2.2k/mo residual as floor; model upside scenarios for a modest content update (2-3 new operators, 5-10 maps) and seasonal promotional campaign to test elasticity and addressable expansion.
3. Consider licensing the operator/SWAT IP for derivative mobile, tabletop or streaming content; the 94.7% rating and clear art style (retro pixel, tactical framing) are portable.

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/686200
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.