# Orcs Must Die! 2

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

- Steam appid: 201790
- Developer: Robot Entertainment
- Released: 2012 · Genre: Action · List price: $14.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.4k to $2.2k per month (mid $1.8k)
- Opportunity score: $3.4k/month at x1.85 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 968.2k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $3.1M
- Review sentiment: 92% positive across 19612 reviews (12909 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 22.5 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 14 months
- Studio active elsewhere (4 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 13.3 years ago
- Last discounted 0 months ago, 8 sales in the last 12 months
- Proven demand elasticity: x1.3 review velocity during past deep sales

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $3.3k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $2.9k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $2.6k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $1.8k |

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

38, 31, 24, 18, 67, 53, 24, 34, 33, 22, 24, 36, 20, 18, 23, 14, 20, 31, 10, 33, 24, 23, 24, 21

## Estimated acquisition range

$43.5k to $87.0k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $21.7k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Third-person cooperative tower-defense shooter from 2012 where players build and defend magical fortifications against orc waves.

Orcs Must Die! 2 remains a quiet earner, generating $1.8K/mo in residual revenue on a $3.7M lifetime net despite minimal marketing activity. The 92% positive rating and strong co-op community signal durable appeal, though recurring stability issues in multiplayer and 14 months of developer silence suggest the codebase needs attention. Best suited for a publisher seeking a revival campaign (balance patches, co-op fixes, modern platform ports) or a larger studio folding it into a catalog licensing portfolio.

- Most realistic play: revival
- Risk (tech): Co-op crash bugs consistently cited across reviews; unfixed for 14+ months suggests technical debt or low dev capacity.
- Risk (multiplayer): Online stability is core to value proposition; fixing requires active development and QA investment.
- Risk (market): Tower-defense genre has matured significantly since 2012; modern competitors (Deep Rock Galactic, Risk of Rain 2) have higher production polish.

What players are asking for:
- Fix co-op disconnect and crash-on-level-end bugs
- Maintain server stability during survival mode
- Port to modern platforms (Switch, next-gen console versions)

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit multiplayer codebase for session-end crashes and generate a 2-week patch roadmap; communicate ETA to community.
2. Run A/B test: bundle with a creator campaign targeting co-op streamers (Deep Rock Galactic, Helldivers 2 audiences) at current $3.74 sale price.
3. Evaluate Robot Entertainment studio capacity and IP roadmap; if fading, acquire full catalog rights and assign dedicated QA partner for 90-day stability pass.

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/201790
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.