Rusty Lake
Rusty Lake is an Amsterdam-based indie game studio (founded 2015, 1-10 employees) that develops surreal, atmospheric point-and-click puzzle and escape room games within a shared narrative universe, serving global consumers via freemium and $1.99-$4.99 premium titles across mobile, PC, and console.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
Rusty Lake firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rusty Lake
- Legal name
- Rusty Lake B.V.
- Website
- https://rustylake.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Rusty Lake is an Amsterdam-based indie game studio (founded 2015, 1-10 employees) that develops surreal, atmospheric point-and-click puzzle and escape room games within a shared narrative universe, serving global consumers via freemium and $1.99-$4.99 premium titles across mobile, PC, and console.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Rusty Lake is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Amsterdam
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Rusty Lake business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Freemium Cube Escape Games: The Cube Escape series games are free to play with minimal or no ads, serving as a funnel to introduce players to the Rusty Lake universe and drive awareness for premium titles.
- Premium Game Sales: Premium adventure games (Rusty Lake Hotel, Rusty Lake: Roots, Rusty Lake Paradise, The White Door, Underground Blossom, The Past Within, Servant of the Lake) are sold as one-time purchases ranging from $1.99 to $4.99.
- Cube Escape Collection Sales: The bundled collection of nine Cube Escape games is sold for €3.99/4.99 USD on PC platforms, with mobile versions free to play.
- Merchandise: Rusty Lake sells merchandise including T-shirts and posters featuring game characters and artwork.
- In-Game Advertising: Some free Cube Escape games may include limited advertising as a revenue stream.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Cube Escape Collection: €3.99/4.99 on PC, Free on mobile |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Underground Blossom: 2.99€/$ on Mobile, 4.99€/$ on PC |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Rusty Lake: Roots: 2.99 USD / EURO |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Rusty Lake Paradise: 3/4 $ |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | The White Door: 2.99 €/$ |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Rusty Lake Hotel: 1.99 USD / EURO |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Cube Escape Games: Free |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Samsara Room: Free |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Rusty Lake Untold: The Lab: Free |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels9 records
Rusty Lake product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rusty Lake is an indie game studio that designs and develops point-and-click puzzle adventure games set within an interconnected surrealistic universe. The studio sells a portfolio of premium adventure titles (e.g., Rusty Lake Hotel, Roots, Paradise, The White Door, The Past Within, Underground Blossom) and free Cube Escape room-escape games across iOS, Android, Steam, Nintendo Switch, GOG, and Itch.io, alongside a tabletop escape room experience and game merchandise.
Product overview
Rusty Lake is an indie game studio offering a portfolio of point-and-click adventure and room escape games set within its own mysterious universe. The product line includes: the free Cube Escape Series (10 episodes of atmospheric escape room-style games) and the bundled Cube Escape Collection; three premium Rusty Lake branded adventure games (Hotel, Roots, Paradise); the unique combined game/film Cube Escape: Paradox; standalone premium adventures (Samsara Room, The White Door); the co-op only The Past Within; recent releases Underground Blossom and upcoming Servant of the Lake; and Rusty Lake Untold: The Lab (tabletop experience). A publishing sub-brand called Second Maze extends collaboration opportunities. The games share interconnected narratives, characteristic dark atmosphere, and comic-style visuals, with most featuring music by Victor Butzelaar and artwork by Johan Scherft.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Cube Escape: Series of free point-and-click puzzle/room escape games introducing the Rusty Lake universe, including 10 episodes: Seasons, The Lake, Arles, Harvey's Box, Case 23, The Mill, Birthday, Theatre, The Cave, and Paradox.
- Second Maze
- Cubeescape.com
Products and services
- Cube Escape Series A series of free point-and-click room escape games set in the Rusty Lake universe, featuring an escape-room atmosphere with suspense and surreal connections between episodes. Designed for individual puzzle and adventure game players on mobile and desktop.
- Cube Escape Collection A bundled point-and-click adventure anthology of nine Cube Escape games following detective Dale Vandermeer, updated and preserved for modern platforms including Steam. Sold for €3.99/$4.99 on PC; free on mobile.
- Rusty Lake Hotel Premium point-and-click adventure where players serve deadly dinners to five animal-headed guests in a mysterious hotel. Features six rooms of unique brain teasers and a thriller narrative. Priced at $1.99 USD/EUR.
- Rusty Lake: Roots Award-winning premium point-and-click adventure in which James Vanderboom inherits a house and plants a special seed; players expand a bloodline by unlocking portraits across 33+ levels. Priced at $2.99 USD/EUR.
- Rusty Lake Paradise Third premium point-and-click adventure in which Jakob Eilander returns to Paradise island after his mother's death, with the island struck by ten plagues. Features atmospheric pastel paintings and unique puzzles for each plague. Priced at $3-$4.
- Cube Escape: Paradox Combined Rusty Lake short film and game crossover in which detective Dale Vandermeer is trapped in two universes, with interactive connections between the film and game. Two chapters, with hand-painted artwork and 14 supported languages.
- The White Door Point-and-click adventure featuring innovative split-screen gameplay where Robert Hill wakes in a Mental Health facility with severe memory loss, exploring daily routines and surrealistic dreams. Priced at $2.99 USD/EUR.
- The Past Within First co-op only point-and-click adventure in the Rusty Lake universe, with two players exploring Albert Vanderboom's mysteries from different perspectives (Past in 2D, Future in 3D). Supports cross-platform play between PC, Mac, iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch.
- Underground Blossom Premium point-and-click adventure where players descend into Rusty Lake Underground, traveling through Laura Vanderboom's life and memories across seven unique metro stations. Priced at €/$2.99 on mobile and €/$4.99 on PC.
- Servant of the Lake Upcoming premium point-and-click adventure set in the Vanderboom house during the era of Aldous and William Vanderboom. Players take on housekeeping duties, solving puzzles to fulfil daily tasks and welcome visitors, with events occurring decades before Rusty Lake: Roots.
- Rusty Lake Untold: The Lab Tabletop escape room adventure bringing the classic Rusty Lake experience to living rooms. Includes a Game Master guide and cards, playable in real life or online, for up to 4 players plus a game master with 60-90 minutes playtime. Available as free Early Access.
- Samsara Room Atmospheric point-and-click adventure released to celebrate Rusty Lake's 5-year anniversary. A re-assembled predecessor to the Rusty Lake universe with new puzzles, story, graphics and immersive soundtrack by Victor Butzelaar. Available free.
- Mitoza
Quantifiable outcome
- Cube Escape: Seasons has over 1.9 million plays
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Rusty Lake
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Rusty Lake technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Rusty Lake partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Second MazecoreSecond Maze is a publishing and development studio co-founded by the founders of Rusty Lake. It serves as a publishing label for The White Door and other collaborative projects, helping other developers and enabling interesting collaborations.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Rusty Lake competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lucas Pope: Solo developer of Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn, both narrative-driven indie puzzle games. Comparable to Rusty Lake in narrative density, indie scale, and premium PC/mobile distribution.
- ustwo games: Studio behind Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2, premium mobile puzzle games with a distinctive artistic identity. Highly comparable on premium mobile puzzle positioning, indie scale, and brand-led marketing.
- Playdead: Danish indie studio behind Limbo and INSIDE, both atmospheric puzzle-platformers. Closely comparable to Rusty Lake as a small, art-driven indie studio producing premium narrative puzzle games with a distinctive dark visual style.
- Amanita Design: Czech indie studio known for hand-drawn surreal point-and-click adventures such as Machinarium, Botanicula, and Creaks. Directly comparable to Rusty Lake on genre (puzzle adventure), art style (surreal hand-drawn), and indie scale.
- Fireproof Games: UK studio behind The Room series, a flagship premium mobile puzzle/escape-room franchise. Closely comparable on mobile-first premium puzzle pricing model, escape-room mechanics, and niche-but-loyal fan base.
- The Chinese Room: UK studio behind Dear Esther, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. Comparable as a narrative-driven indie studio that pivots between experimental, atmospheric projects on multiple platforms.
- Daedalic Entertainment: German adventure game studio and publisher with a long catalog of point-and-click titles (Deponia, Silence, The Whispered World). Comparable on adventure/puzzle genre focus, though Daedalic is larger and broader in scope.
- Simogo: Swedish two-person indie studio behind Year Walk, Device 6, and Sayonara Wild Hearts. Highly comparable as a tiny, art-forward indie studio shipping narrative puzzle/adventure titles at premium mobile prices.
Broad incumbents
- Devolver Digital: Major indie publisher with a portfolio of creative, narrative-driven titles (Inscryption, Cult of the Lamb). Comparable through Second Maze's publishing ambitions and overlaps with Rusty Lake's indie narrative-puzzle positioning.
- Annapurna Interactive: Publisher of narrative and artistic indie games including What Remains of Edith Finch, Cocoon, and Stray. Comparable as a curator of atmospheric, narrative-led indie titles, but operates as a publisher across many studios rather than a competitor.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Rusty Lake social profiles
Digital presenceRusty Lake compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Rusty Lake financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rusty Lake leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Rusty Lake subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Rusty Lake funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rusty Lake M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Rusty Lake
What does Rusty Lake do?
Rusty Lake is an indie game studio that designs and develops point-and-click puzzle adventure games set within an interconnected surrealistic universe. The studio sells a portfolio of premium adventure titles (e.g., Rusty Lake Hotel, Roots, Paradise, The White Door, The Past Within, Underground Blossom) and free Cube Escape room-escape games across iOS, Android, Steam, Nintendo Switch, GOG, and Itch.io, alongside a tabletop escape room experience and game merchandise.
Is Rusty Lake a public or private company?
Rusty Lake is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Rusty Lake founded?
Rusty Lake was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Rusty Lake based?
Rusty Lake is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Rusty Lake make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Freemium Cube Escape Games are the primary driver. The others are premium Game Sales, cube Escape Collection Sales, merchandise and in-Game Advertising.
Who are Rusty Lake's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lucas Pope, ustwo games, Playdead, Amanita Design, Fireproof Games, The Chinese Room, Daedalic Entertainment and Simogo. Broad incumbents are Devolver Digital and Annapurna Interactive.
Does Rusty Lake have an API?
No public API is recorded for Rusty Lake.