# Rusted Warfare - RTS

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

- Steam appid: 647960
- Developer: Corroding Games
- Released: 2017 · Genre: Indie · List price: $4.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $2.0k to $2.9k per month (mid $2.5k)
- Opportunity score: $5.2k/month at x2.10 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 360.1k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $386.3k
- Review sentiment: 96% positive across 7513 reviews (6548 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 91.7 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 3.8 years
- Studio inactive: no public activity across 1 tracked titles
- Last build shipped 3.8 years ago
- Store page localized in only 1 language(s)
- Last discounted 1 months ago, 4 sales in the last 12 months

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

| Stage | USD/month |
|---|---|
| Gross storefront sales | $4.5k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $3.9k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $3.5k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $2.5k |

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

126, 69, 97, 75, 104, 147, 107, 126, 91, 88, 86, 89, 86, 74, 69, 83, 85, 74, 85, 104, 68, 68, 96, 129

## Estimated acquisition range

$59.0k to $118.0k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $29.5k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A 2017 indie real-time strategy game in the Total Annihilation/Supreme Commander vein, built on a passionate mod community and priced at $4.99.

Rusted Warfare has quietly earned $386k lifetime on 360k units with a 96% positive rating and stable $2,458/mo residual revenue, despite zero developer communication in 46 months. The game is held aloft almost entirely by player-created mods (especially from Chinese and Russian communities) and remains mechanically sound for its niche audience. For a studio seeking a low-risk, high-signal indie RTS catalog asset with proven long-tail resilience and zero marketing burden, this represents clean acquisition or publishing opportunity; for a larger RTS publisher, a revival campaign targeting dormant genre fans could unlock significantly higher engagement.

- Most realistic play: acquisition
- Risk (tech): Multiple reports of critical crashes on fresh installs and newer hardware despite no recent developer patches; root cause and fix liability unclear.
- Risk (other): Developer (Corroding Games) appears inactive for 46 months; acquisition must clarify ownership, source-code access, and IP assignment.
- Risk (market): Playerbase is acknowledged as small; growth ceiling may be capped without active content updates or marketing push.

What players are asking for:
- Stability fixes and broader hardware/OS compatibility testing
- New game modes or campaign content beyond sandbox/skirmish
- Official mod curation or first-party mod support

Suggested first moves:
1. Obtain source code, build environment, and IP assignment from Corroding Games; audit crash logs and identify high-priority stability regressions tied to OS/engine versions since 2017.
2. Engage top modding communities (Chinese, Russian hubs identified in reviews) to understand mod ecosystem health, licensing, and rehost/curation strategy.
3. Run A/B pricing and content experiment on a small cohort (Discord, Steam news): test $2.99 price point, bundle with top 5 workshop mods, and gauge willingness-to-pay for official cosmetics or campaign DLC.

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/647960
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.