The Bard's Tale Trilogy

Krome Studios · 2018 · $14.99 · RPG · deal grade B

Measured on 2026-09-26 06:29 UTC, 10 days ago. The whole catalog is re-measured daily; a game that just launched can move fast between passes.

• Estimated net residual revenue: $353 to $529 per month
• Opportunity: $705 per month at x1.60 dormancy
• Estimated lifetime owners: 61.0k
• 95% positive across 1561 reviews · 5.5 reviews/month

Why it's flagged

• Developer silent for 3.1 years
• Studio inactive: no public activity across 4 tracked titles
• Last discounted 3 months ago, 8 sales in the last 12 months

Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Note written 2026-09-08; the live figures above take precedence over any numbers in it.

A 2018 remaster of the classic 1980s first-person dungeon-crawler trilogy, preserved for modern systems with original gameplay intact.

The Bard's Tale Trilogy occupies a narrow but genuine niche: it holds a devoted retro-RPG audience (94% positive, median 43 hours played) and generates solid four-figure monthly residuals with minimal marketing overhead. The 36-month dev silence and zero recent discounts suggest the title has reached a stable, low-maintenance state. For a publisher seeking quiet catalog depth or a retro-focused studio wanting to refresh a beloved archive property, this represents a proven-earning asset with negligible operational cost and a community that largely self-sustains. Risk: the franchise IP likely remains with Interplay or a successor rights-holder, making outright acquisition unlikely without complex licensing negotiation. Most realistic play: licensing.

• Risk: The Bard's Tale franchise (and likely the original 1980s codebase) is owned or co-owned by Interplay Entertainment or its IP successor; inXile Entertainment holds publishing rights but may lack perpetual ownership or derivative rights.
• Risk: Review subset flags significant aesthetic friction: legacy pixel-art presentation alienates new players despite faithful preservation of originals.
• Risk: Player base is thin (33 current concurrent, 52 peak in last 30 days) and aging; growth potential is limited without a major remake or franchise revival.

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