# Marauders

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

- Steam appid: 1789480
- Developer: Small Impact Games
- Released: 2022 · Genre: Action · List price: $29.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $5.3k to $8.0k per month (mid $6.6k)
- Opportunity score: $11.9k/month at x1.80 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 431.7k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $3.2M
- Review sentiment: 67% positive across 21428 reviews (13491 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 35.5 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer active, last post 4 months ago
- Last build shipped 24 months ago
- No Steam discount in 2.0 years (deepest tracked: -40%)

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $12.0k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $10.5k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $9.5k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $6.6k |

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

108, 91, 52, 71, 51, 50, 53, 52, 47, 61, 64, 65, 65, 54, 66, 46, 33, 45, 33, 53, 63, 23, 25, 16

## Missed seasonal-sale revenue (modeled)

Skipped 12 Steam seasonal sale window(s) in the last 24 months. Running a -50% discount in those windows is modeled at +$53.4k net in total, assuming a unit uplift of x3.0 (industry-typical for old catalog titles). Same ±30-50% error range applies.

## Estimated acquisition range

$159.3k to $318.5k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $79.6k/year). Same error range applies.

## Markets by review language

- french: 2%
- german: 4%
- koreana: 1%
- spanish: 2%
- brazilian: 1%
- english: 85%
- russian: 2%
- japanese: 1%
- schinese: 3%

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Marauders is a squad-based tactical extraction shooter set in derelict spacecraft, blending PvP combat with dynamic environmental breach mechanics.

This title generated $3.2M lifetime revenue on 432k units despite zero promotional activity in 24 months and a 2-year content drought. The core mechanic (ship infiltration + extraction) remains mechanically sound and competitively underexplored; the 67% positive rating and $6.6k/mo residual revenue suggest a dormant playerbase willing to return. For a publisher with live-ops expertise or a studio needing a proven extraction-shooter IP, acquisition plus phased content revival (new maps, seasonal cosmetics, balance patches) could unlock $12k/mo opportunity within 6-12 months.

- Most realistic play: acquisition
- Risk (multiplayer): Player base has contracted sharply (velocity: 108 → 16 monthly units over 24 months); revival requires concurrent player threshold to avoid death spiral, especially for 4-player squads.
- Risk (tech): 24-month build silence and 4-month dev communication gap suggest either technical debt, internal restructuring, or resource constraint; due diligence must assess codebase health and live-ops infrastructure.
- Risk (market): Extraction shooter saturation (Escape from Tarkov, DayZ, etc.) means differentiation hinges on the space-breach hook; messaging and content cadence must emphasize uniqueness or risk positioning as derivative.

What players are asking for:
- Regular content updates and seasonal battle pass
- New maps and POI variants
- Balance changes to ship meta and loadout economy
- Communication roadmap from developers

Suggested first moves:
1. Acquire IP and conduct 4-week technical audit of engine, netcode, and monetization systems to estimate revival roadmap cost and timeline.
2. Publish a 90-day public commitment (new map, balance patch, seasonal cosmetics) within 14 days of acquisition to stabilize remaining DAU and signal seriousness.
3. Analyze the 37% key-reseller share and pricing elasticity (-1.0) to design a free-to-play or battle-pass conversion strategy that targets 50-100 concurrent players within 180 days.

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/1789480
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.