My game didn't do great. It was received well apparently by the very few who played it. As a team of only devs tho, all things marketing was rough & inefficient.

So my goal is to find a publisher or marketing partners for this game, which already came out. I know it's not the norm for a publisher to sign on an existing game, it's in the name, but is it possible? Since the game has decent reviews & low visibility metrics, I was wondering if it could be considered potentially profitable for a publisher since it hasnt been marketed widely to be judged by it's target audience yet.

Also, many years ago, before this game, I tried pitching to publishers via their email portals other game concepts. I never got a single response, before I start trying again, is "cold call" style emails to their portals or email address even worth it or straight to spam? Is it useless to contact publishers unless you have connections, successful games, or an ongoing viral moment? Has anybody had success at the very least obtaining a rejection email from using email/submission portal as proof they read it at least?

Also, assuming all publishers ghost me, or say no, and I'm forced to move onto other games, is a failed game under my belt a death sentence for me ever finding publishers or funding for future game pitches?

The game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1219800/Galactic_Thunderdome/