# Crashlands

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

- Steam appid: 391730
- Developer: Butterscotch Shenanigans
- Released: 2016 · Genre: Action · List price: $14.99
- Deal grade: B (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $1.5k to $2.2k per month (mid $1.8k)
- Opportunity score: $2.5k/month at x1.35 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 359.1k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $1.2M
- Review sentiment: 90% positive across 6742 reviews (5524 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 22.7 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 10 months ago
- Store page localized in only 2 language(s)
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 10 sales in the last 12 months

## 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)

89, 61, 67, 47, 63, 52, 45, 59, 87, 31, 39, 36, 28, 25, 26, 96, 47, 40, 20, 17, 24, 29, 17, 29

## Estimated acquisition range

$43.8k to $87.6k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $21.9k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

Crashlands is a top-down action-crafting survival game from 2016 by Butterscotch Shenanigans with strong humor and long-tail engagement.

At $1,825/mo residual revenue and 89.5% positive rating, Crashlands shows durable appeal nearly a decade post-launch, drawing players back for replay and nostalgia. The community's primary miss is local co-op (satisfied by Crashlands 2), and grind feedback is minor noise on 5,524 Steam reviews. For a publisher or acquiring studio, the IP has low licensing complexity, proven audience retention, and enough velocity to justify a modest marketing push or mobile port expansion; the opportunity is incremental catalog value rather than turnaround.

- Most realistic play: publishing
- Risk (market): Genre saturation in action-crafting survival has intensified since 2016; new players may perceive the title as dated despite strong legacy reviews.
- Risk (other): Grind friction is cited in multiple reviews; balance tuning or progression pass could unlock retention gains but risks alienating veterans.
- Risk (tech): No dev post in 14 months and only three studio titles signal stretched capacity; live-ops or major updates would require external support.

What players are asking for:
- Online co-op (acknowledged by players as shipped in sequel)
- Grind-progression rebalancing or shortcut options
- Cross-platform mobile play or parity

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit Butterscotch Shenanigans' capacity and appetite for a content pass (cosmetics, new biome, progression tuning) to test price elasticity (0.73) and monthly revenue ceiling.
2. Cross-reference mobile install base (iOS, Android, console ports) to map total catalog revenue and identify co-publishing or porting licensing gaps.
3. Soft-test a seasonal cosmetic shop or battle-pass structure in a limited update to measure willingness-to-pay beyond the $14.99 base and inform roadmap ROI.

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/391730
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.