DustBowl Brands
The Consumer Trust Index
We rate the studios behind the games we support on three things that matter to anyone who hosts or builds for a community: consumer ethics, hostability (self-hosting and community freedom), and preservation. Every verdict is drawn from the studio's own published terms — primary sources only, opinion clearly labeled.
Loud for the bad actors, quiet for the good ones. A rating is only published after research, a studio's right of reply, and a dual-key lock by two of our Dune Marshalls — then it's frozen forever.
What we weigh
Ethics
How fairly they treat the people who pay them.
Hostability
How free the community is to host & build.
Preservation
Whether the game & its community survive.
The Index is launching
No ratings have been locked and published yet. Each rating is researched against a studio's own published terms, the studio is given a right of reply, and the verdict is frozen forever once two of our Dune Marshalls sign off. The first published brands are on their way.
Every rating is an editorial assessment under our published rubric, based on the studio's own published terms as of a stated date. Verdicts are opinion; the underlying quotes are primary sources. Not legal advice.
Why a trust index at all?
We host servers and build free tools for the people who run them. Before we put our name behind a game, we want to know one thing: does the studio leave the gate open for its community, or fence it off?
Open range vs. walled garden
A studio earns trust when its players can host their own servers, build their own tools, export their own data, and keep what they create. It loses trust when it fences the community in.
Receipts, not rumor
Every claim is anchored to a quote from the studio's own published terms — the EULA, ToS, or privacy policy — archived before we publish. We rate their own words, on a stated date.
Locked & frozen forever
Two Dune Marshalls must sign off to lock a rating, after a legal review. Once locked it never changes — no quiet edits. Corrections are append-only, and a proven-wrong rating is retracted in public.
The process
How a rating gets made
Nothing is published on a hunch. Each rating travels a fixed pipeline — research, internal review, a studio's right of reply, legal review, and a dual-key lock — before it ever appears here. The full rubric, weights, and auto-fail dealbreakers are public.
Read the full methodology →- 1
Research against primary sources
We read the studio's own EULA, ToS, and privacy policy, archive every source, and score the three pillars from the evidence — never from training data or rumor.
- 2
Right of reply
The studio is notified and gets 7 business days to respond. Any response is published verbatim; a good-faith fix can move the score before we lock. Silence is noted on the record.
- 3
Dual-key lock
After a legal and risk review, two distinct Dune Marshalls must sign off. A SHA-256 hash of the record is stamped on lock and the rated terms are archived.
- 4
Frozen forever, corrected in the open
A locked rating never changes. If we get a detail wrong, the score stays frozen and an append-only note links the correction. A rating proven materially false is retracted in public.
What the scores mean
Overall = Ethics ×0.50 + Hostability ×0.25 + Preservation ×0.25, each pillar 0–100. The grade decides how we engage with the title.
90–100
Trusted
Open range. We host and build freely.
80–89
Trusted
Solid, with minor concerns noted.
70–79
Caution
Supported, but read the findings first.
60–69
On Notice
Supported, with public improvement asks.
Below 60
Blacklisted
Full disengagement. We don't support it.
Three auto-fail dealbreakers
Any one of these forces an instant F and blacklist, whatever the computed score:
Frequently asked questions
What is the Consumer Trust Index?
It's our public rating system for the studios behind the games we host. We score each on consumer ethics, hostability (self-hosting and community freedom), and preservation, judged strictly against the studio's own published terms.
How are studios scored?
Each rating combines three pillars — Ethics (50%), Hostability (25%), and Preservation (25%), each on a 0–100 scale — into an overall score and an A–F grade. Three dealbreakers, such as banning all community tools, force an automatic F. The full rubric is published on our methodology page.
Are these ratings just your opinion?
The verdict is our editorial opinion, clearly labeled as such. But every underlying claim is anchored to a primary source — the studio's own EULA, ToS, or privacy policy — which we archive before publishing. It's a factual consumer assessment under a published rubric, not legal advice.
Do studios get a chance to respond?
Yes. Before a rating is locked, the studio is notified and gets 7 business days to reply. Any response is published verbatim, fact corrections are applied pre-lock, and a good-faith fix can change the score. Silence is noted on the record.
Can a rating change after it's published?
No. Once two of our Dune Marshalls lock a rating it is frozen forever — no quiet edits, no re-rating. Corrections are append-only and link a public note. If a rating is ever shown to be materially wrong, we retract it from public view entirely rather than leave a false statement online.
How can I report a studio?
Use our Report a Studio form. We only act on primary-source evidence — the studio's own published terms — and every submission is reviewed by our staff before anything is drafted.
Still have a question, or spotted something anti-consumer? Report a studio.
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