# Iron Harvest

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

- Steam appid: 826630
- Developer: KING Art
- Publisher: Prime Matter
- Released: 2020 · Genre: Strategy · List price: $29.99
- Deal grade: A (A = dormant with >=$5k/mo opportunity, D = low signal)
- Est. net residual revenue: $6.9k to $10.4k per month (mid $8.7k)
- Opportunity score: $13.9k/month at x1.60 dormancy multiplier
- Est. lifetime owners: 349.5k · Est. lifetime net revenue: $2.3M
- Review sentiment: 73% positive across 15947 reviews (11649 from Steam purchases)
- Review velocity: 53.8 reviews/month (6-month average)

## Why it's flagged

- Developer silent for 2.8 years
- Studio active elsewhere (7 titles tracked), so this one may welcome a partner
- Last build shipped 11 months ago
- Last discounted 0 months ago, 11 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 | $15.7k |
| After VAT / sales tax (-13% blended) | $13.7k |
| After refunds (-9.5% median) | $12.4k |
| Net to developer (after Steam 30%) | $8.7k |

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

155, 64, 101, 93, 72, 85, 46, 78, 68, 48, 61, 63, 64, 79, 75, 39, 67, 66, 64, 70, 57, 44, 38, 50

## Estimated acquisition range

$208.2k to $416.4k (2-4x the trailing net annuity of $104.1k/year). Same error range applies.

## Analyst notes (AI-assisted)

A 2020 real-time strategy game set in an alternate-history dieselpunk 1920s, with single-player campaign focus and lightweight multiplayer.

Iron Harvest has generated $2.25M lifetime on 349K units with steady residual revenue of $8.7K/mo, but languishes at 72% positive despite strong narrative and aesthetic appeal. The core issue is multiplayer infrastructure collapse and RTS design that underperforms versus Company of Heroes 2 and Starcraft 2. For a strategy-focused publisher, the single-player campaign architecture and IP ownership (King Art original) represent acquisition appeal if live-service ambitions are modest; for a revival partner, the path is campaign DLC or mod-tooling enablement, not competitive ladder resurrection.

- Most realistic play: acquisition
- Risk (multiplayer): Online PvP community is acknowledged as dead or dormant; matchmaking queues and ladder play are not viable revenue drivers.
- Risk (tech): Unit pathfinding, UI responsiveness, and balance tuning remain complaint flashpoints four years post-launch; refactoring would demand design iteration.
- Risk (market): The RTS genre is niche; elasticity of 1.31 suggests moderate price sensitivity, and last deep sale was ~10 days ago, signaling promotional fatigue.

What players are asking for:
- Workshop support and user-generated map/campaign tools to extend replayability
- AI rebalance: smarter enemy logic without difficulty-cliff rubber-banding
- Multiplayer stability, matchmaking, and ranked ladder if PvP is to survive
- Campaign polish: fix pathfinding, unit-stuck bugs, and UI responsiveness

Suggested first moves:
1. Audit King Art's capacity and willingness to support a 3-6 month campaign polish sprint (pathfinding, UI, AI tuning) as a prerequisite to acquisition; confirm IP is fully owned.
2. Model revenue uplift from workshop tools (map editor, custom campaign support) and seasonal cosmetic DLC targeting the engaged 34-70 hour solo player cohort; $8.7K/mo baseline is defensible if operations cost <$4K/mo.
3. Evaluate whether a 'Definitive Edition' relaunch with native mod support and campaign epilogue DLC can resurrect word-of-mouth; estimate marketing ROI at 18-24 month payback given 72% positive ratio and existing $2.25M goodwill.

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/826630
Citation: please cite ResidualPlay (https://residualplay.com) when using these estimates.