Sub Rosa

What Sub Rosa does

Sub Rosa is a multiplayer first-person shooter developed by Cryptic Sea and published by Devolver Digital, released into Steam Early Access on March 25, 2021 and still classified as Early Access at the time of the source data. The game centers on tense corporate deal-making, double-crosses, and high-speed car chases, blending FPS combat with social deduction and team strategy. Players participate in three distinct modes—World Mode (open-ended corporate competition for colored disks), Round Mode (round-based competition simulating a corporate work week), and Eliminator Mode (social deduction with secretly assigned roles)—all built on an OpenGL 2.0 graphics engine with physics simulation and supporting online PvP, online co-op, and cross-platform multiplayer across Windows and SteamOS/Linux.

Technically, Sub Rosa is a self-contained client-server multiplayer title distributed exclusively through Steam, with Devolver Digital handling storefront positioning, marketing, and the publisher franchise page that cross-sells the title alongside the publisher's broader indie portfolio. Pricing is a flat $19.99 one-time purchase, periodically discounted (e.g., a current 25% promotional price of $14.99), with no subscription, DLC, or microtransaction layer disclosed.

Commercially, the game targets two primary consumer segments: multiplayer FPS gamers seeking emergent team-based action, and indie/experimental game enthusiasts drawn to niche simulation and social-deduction mechanics. The community is small but established, with 3,385 cumulative reviews across all languages (2,385 English, 67% positive) and 46 Steam curator reviews, yielding a Mixed rating. No revenue, headcount, funding, or operating metrics have been disclosed, and no developer updates have been issued in over five years, indicating a stalled development cycle despite continued storefront availability.

Name

Sub Rosa

Legal name

Cryptic Sea

Website

https://subrosagame.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sub Rosa is a multiplayer first-person shooter developed by Cryptic Sea and published by Devolver Digital that blends FPS combat with corporate deal-making and social deduction, distributed exclusively on Steam as a one-time $19.99 purchase targeting niche indie multiplayer audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Video Games

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Game Server Hosting & Community Infrastructure (private servers, matchmaking communities) (MPAFAIAF)

Keywords

• Multiplayer first-person shooter
• Indie action games
• Social deduction games
• Early access games
• Physics-based shooters

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Game Sales (One-Time Purchase): Sub Rosa is sold as a one-time purchase on Steam with no disclosed subscription or recurring revenue model. The game was initially distributed via word-of-mouth and later publicly listed on Steam. Currently priced at $19.99 standard, with periodic promotions such as a 25% discount. Revenue is generated through direct sales to consumers on the Steam platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sub Rosa is a multiplayer first-person shooter game developed by Cryptic Sea and published by Devolver Digital, in which players participate in tense corporate deals, double-crosses, and high-speed car chases. The game offers three distinct modes (World Mode, Round Mode, and Eliminator Mode) that combine online PvP, online co-op, and cross-platform multiplayer with a 1980s crime-themed aesthetic and physics-based gameplay. It is sold as a one-time purchase on Steam and is currently in Early Access.

Product overview

Sub Rosa is a single unified product—a multiplayer first-person shooter game currently in extended Early Access. The game includes three distinct game modes: World Mode (open-ended corporate competition), Round Mode (round-based corporate competition), and Eliminator Mode (social deduction with secret roles). These modes share the core physics-based gameplay and 1980s aesthetic but offer different competitive frameworks for players.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sub Rosa A multiplayer first-person shooter about tense deals, double-crosses, and high-speed car chases, sold as a one-time purchase to individual consumers on Steam. Players participate in corporate warfare involving trades, acquisitions, and strategic competition for wealth and power, with online PvP, online co-op, and cross-platform multiplayer.
• World Mode An open-ended multiplayer game mode in which multiple corporations compete for money and power by taking control of colored disks through trades or violent acquisitions. Players earn cash to purchase guns, cars, equipment, and clothing to contribute to their company's success.
• Round Mode A round-based variant of World Mode in which corporations compete through a simulated five-day work week, with cumulative corporate money determining standings at the end of each round week.
• Eliminator Mode A social deduction game mode where one secretly-assigned Eliminator must kill the Savior while a Protector tries to track and defend them; remaining players are Civilians who must survive the round or eliminate the Eliminator with a grenade.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Devolver DigitalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDevolver Digital is the publisher of Sub Rosa, handling distribution, marketing, and sales through the Steam platform and its own franchise storefront. The game appears under the Devolver Digital franchise page on Steam, benefiting from cross-promotion with other Devolver Digital titles. Devolver Digital is a well-established independent video game publisher known for supporting indie and experimental game projects.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Broad incumbents

• Garry's Mod: Long-running multiplayer sandbox that hosts community-driven modes including social-deduction variants, comparable to Sub Rosa's open-ended multiplayer and emergent player-driven gameplay.
• Rust: Large-scale multiplayer survival/raid FPS with team-based competition and resource accumulation, sharing Sub Rosa's emergent multiplayer and territorial competition themes at a vastly larger commercial scale.

Direct peers

• Enter the Gungeon: Devolver Digital-published indie shooter with co-op multiplayer and roguelike elements, sitting alongside Sub Rosa on the Devolver franchise page and sharing indie shooter DNA and experimental design.
• Hotline Miami: Top-down action/shooter also published by Devolver Digital with a synth/80s aesthetic and experimental mechanics, making it one of the closest comparable titles to Sub Rosa in publisher portfolio and design philosophy.
• Receiver: Indie experimental FPS with deep gun-mechanics simulation and a small devoted community, comparable to Sub Rosa's indie experimental shooter positioning on Steam.
• Cruelty Squad: Experimental indie immersive-sim FPS with unconventional mechanics and a small but devoted community, mirroring Sub Rosa's niche, low-poly experimental design philosophy.

Emerging players

• Among Us: Breakout multiplayer social-deduction title with secret roles and betrayal mechanics, the most prominent recent reference point for Sub Rosa's Eliminator Mode-style hidden-role gameplay.
• Town of Salem: Multiplayer social-deduction game with hidden roles and betrayal mechanics, sharing Sub Rosa's experimental niche-deduction design DNA in a non-FPS format.
• SCP: Secret Laboratory: Free-to-play multiplayer FPS built around social deduction, role assignment, and team play, directly comparable to Sub Rosa's Eliminator Mode secret-role mechanics in an FPS context.
• Trouble in Terrorist Town: Widely played social-deduction FPS mode (originating as a Garry's Mod mod) with hidden traitor mechanics, closely aligned with Sub Rosa's Eliminator Mode role-based competitive play.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/subrosagame

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sub Rosa