# Ruined King: A League of Legends Story™

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

- Steam appid: 1276790
- Developer: Airship Syndicate
- Publisher: Riot Forge
- Released: 2021 · Genre: Indie · List price: $29.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $4.7k to $7.1k per month (mid $5.9k)
- Opportunity score: $12.4k/month at x2.10 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 339.3k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $2.5M
- Review sentiment: 89% positive across 11320 reviews (10602 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 31.7 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 2.8 years
- Studio active elsewhere (4 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 3.4 years ago
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 4 sales in the last 12 months
- Proven demand elasticity: x1.4 review velocity during past deep sales

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $10.7k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $9.3k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $8.5k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $5.9k |

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

38, 36, 53, 45, 92, 76, 32, 68, 34, 31, 35, 76, 45, 32, 41, 36, 42, 52, 35, 29, 32, 16, 27, 51

## Estimated acquisition range

$142.1k to $284.2k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $71.0k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Turn-based RPG set in League of Legends universe, developed by Airship Syndicate and published by Riot Forge in 2021.

Ruined King has delivered $2.54M lifetime net revenue on 339K units with an 89% positive rating, yet generates only $5,920/mo residual and shows minimal developer engagement (33+ months since last update). The game is technically sound on narrative and art but carries unresolved bugs that prevent full monetization; it remains a dormant but valuable IP asset for Riot Forge, best suited for a targeted bug-fix pass and seasonal content push rather than full acquisition, since publisher retains tight control.

- Most realistic play: publishing
- Licensed IP: the game is built on third-party intellectual property
- Risk (licensed_ip): League of Legends IP owned by Riot Games; any content expansion or port requires Riot approval and likely involves complex approval timelines.
- Risk (tech): Multiple player reports of unresolved, game-blocking bugs (missing legendary drops, locked ultimates) two years post-launch suggest codebase fragility and high QA debt.
- Risk (market): Turn-based combat polarizes players; pacing complaints and walk-speed friction indicate design ceiling already reached; revival upside constrained by genre expectations.

What players are asking for:
- Bug fixes, especially legendary weapon drops and character-ability unlocks
- Quality-of-life improvements: faster travel, better movement speed, streamlined pacing
- Additional story content or post-game expansions leveraging League lore
- Difficulty options or balance tweaks for hardcore turn-based players

Suggested first moves:
1. Conduct internal audit of bug backlog (especially progression-critical ones) and estimate fix cost; prioritize legendary-drop and ability-unlock issues for a 2-4 week hotfix release.
2. A/B test a seasonal cosmetic or battle-pass model tied to League's calendar to re-engage dormant players and test monetization ceiling without story expansion.
3. Evaluate whether a port to console or mobile (given art/voice polish) would multiply addressable market; licensed-IP clearance with Riot will be the gate.

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/1276790
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.