Renown Hits Steam: 100-Player Medieval Sieges at $24.99—Hype or Heavy Metal?

Why This Launch Caught My Eye

Renown just rode onto Steam promising the dream: a “medieval Rust” where up to 100 players scrap for resources, raise castles, wheel out siege engines, and lead clans in massive open-world servers. It’s $24.99 with a 10% launch discount, and after a successful Kickstarter and community playtests, the pitch is clear-skill-based first-person melee combat with deep customization and big, destructive sieges. I’ve been burned by ambitious medieval sandboxes before, but this one has the right ingredients to at least make things interesting.

Key Takeaways

• Up to 100-player servers with castle building, siege weapons, and clan warfare.
• $24.99 launch price (10% off at release) is fair for the scope-if the servers hold.
• “Skill-based combat” claims invite Mordhau/Chivalry comparisons; execution matters.
• Kickstarter-backed with playtest roots-expect fast iteration, but also rough edges.

Breaking Down the Announcement

On paper, Renown ticks a lot of boxes survival fans love: you start with nothing, chop trees and mine stone, lay foundations, and fortify until your keep is a landmark other clans plan raids around. Where it tries to stand out is the combat. Instead of guns and grenades, you’re timing directional attacks, blocks, and parries with swords, polearms, and maces. If you’ve sunk hours into Chivalry 2 or Mordhau, you know how quickly “skill-based” can turn into spammy swing duels unless netcode, stamina, and feint systems are tuned just right. Renown says the fight is about mastery, not gear—great—now show us hit registration that doesn’t buckle under a 100-player siege.

The builder pitch is equally ambitious. Castles aren’t just walls; they’re strategic assets. Expect to park trebuchets and rams outside enemy strongholds, coordinate with your clan, and try to crack defenses before defenders log on or the timer runs out. The promise of deep customization should mean more than just picking a tabard—this is where build variety, trap placement, and creative choke points can make even a smaller clan punch up against zergs.

The Real Questions (That Actually Affect Your Fun)

• Server stability and netcode: 100 players, physics-heavy siege weapons, and melee hit-reg is a stress test from hell. If it wobbles at peak times, the whole loop breaks.
• Wipe cadence and raid windows: Will servers wipe monthly? Are there offline raid protections or timed siege windows? Survival PvP lives or dies on fairness, not just ferocity.
• Solo and small-group viability: Can a duo hold a keep with smart design and traps, or is clan size destiny? A healthy ecosystem needs roles for more than mega-clans.
• Combat depth vs. cheese: Does the system encourage mind games—feints, chambers, stamina plays—or devolve into swing macros and shoulder-rub desyncs?
• Progression and customization: Is “deep” mostly cosmetic, or does it meaningfully change playstyles? Horizontal progression beats stat bloat in PvP sandboxes.

Industry Context: Big Ambition in a Brutal Genre

Survival builders are unforgiving to newcomers and developers alike. Rust set the meta for social chaos and ruthless persistence; Conan Exiles proved there’s room for strong melee and building; Mordhau and Chivalry 2 nailed the feel of medieval dueling but didn’t have true survival loops. Renown is trying to fuse those worlds. It’s smart to launch at an accessible price—sub-$25 (and a 10% discount) lowers the barrier for curious clans to give it a shot. The Kickstarter and community playtests are also good signs; the best survival games evolve rapidly with player feedback, and smaller studios can pivot fast when the meta breaks.

But big claims invite big scrutiny. We’ve watched medieval PvP sandboxes rise with hype and then stall when sieges turn into slideshow theater or balance tilts toward whoever logs more hours. If RDBK Studios nails performance and offers clear, communicated server rules (wipe schedules, raid timing, clan caps), Renown could carve a loyal niche. If not, it risks becoming another weekend curiosity.

What Gamers Need to Know on Day One

• Grab the launch discount if you’re curious; at this price, it’s a low-risk clan night experiment.
• Find a group early. Survival is exponentially better with comms and coordinated building.
• Build smart, not just big. Layered walls, kill boxes, and sightlines matter more than a giant cube.
• Test weapons until one clicks. Directional attacks and parries reward practice; don’t bring a spear mindset to a mace duel.
• Watch server pop and ping. High-pop sieges are the selling point—just make sure your experience isn’t dying to desync.

The Gamer’s Perspective

This caught my attention because so few games really commit to melee-first survival at scale. When siege towers are rolling and a drummer calls the push, it’s gaming magic—if the systems hold. I’m cautiously optimistic. The Kickstarter roots suggest Renown will iterate quickly, and the price is right. But my buy-in long-term hinges on the answers to those raid, wipe, and netcode questions. Deliver a fair, stable battlefield and I’ll happily sink nights into defending a keep with a handful of stubborn friends.

TL;DR

Renown launches on Steam at $24.99 (10% off) with 100-player medieval PvP, castle building, and sieges. The pitch rules; the execution will decide its fate. If the netcode and ruleset land, this could be the melee-first survival sandbox we’ve been waiting for.