# Bad North: Jotunn Edition

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

- Steam appid: 688420
- Developer: Plausible Concept
- Publisher: Raw Fury
- Released: 2018 · Genre: Action · List price: $14.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $8.0k to $12.0k per month (mid $10.0k)
- Opportunity score: $13.0k/month at x1.30 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 610.2k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $2.0M
- Review sentiment: 93% positive across 14160 reviews (12205 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 124.5 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer active, last post 4 months ago
- Last build shipped 27 months ago

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $18.2k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $15.8k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $14.3k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $10.0k |

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

171, 130, 152, 99, 188, 261, 169, 115, 161, 125, 110, 161, 123, 100, 169, 105, 190, 158, 103, 109, 133, 99, 137, 166

## Estimated acquisition range

$240.7k to $481.4k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $120.3k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A cozy Nordic defense tactics game where players repel Viking raids across procedurally arranged islands with squad-based positioning and light progression.

Bad North sits in a dormant sweet spot: $2M lifetime revenue on 610k units sold, near-perfect review scores (93%), and steady baseline engagement ($10k/mo residual) with zero promotional spend in 26 months. The core complaint is content shallowness and repetitive level design, not broken mechanics. For a publisher or live-service strategist, this is a cheap, stable IP with a proven audience who explicitly want "more enemies" and DLC; the play is a modest content refresh or mobile port expansion, not a full revival.

- Most realistic play: publishing
- Risk (market): Review data shows ceiling at 15–32h playtime; players explicitly note repetition limits replay value despite roguelike framing, capping long-term retention.
- Risk (other): Developer Plausible Concept has published only one title (this game); unknown capacity for post-launch support, balance patches, or content creation.
- Risk (tech): No reported discount activity in 26 months and zero sales lift in past 12 months suggests audience saturation at $14.99 price point; elasticity data may underweight free-to-play or aggressive bundling potential.

What players are asking for:
- More enemy types and behavioral variety to reduce level-to-level repetition
- Randomized island layouts and enemy compositions instead of fixed maps
- DLC content and post-game progression systems
- Clarification of roguelike vs. linear campaign structure

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit Plausible Concept's roadmap and capacity: confirm willingness to greenlight 2–3 enemy types, randomization pass, or cosmetic DLC within 6–9 months.
2. Model mobile/console port economics: 610k desktop units + mention of prior mobile version suggests IP has proven cross-platform appeal; licensing or porting deal may unlock $5–15k/mo with minimal dev lift.
3. A/B test seasonal cosmetics or limited-time event content: ultra-low friction test (no new mechanics, no balance risk) to confirm if price-elastic $4.99 DLC or f2p battle pass model unlocks dormant spending.

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/688420
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.