Do I ship it?

Games3D Platformer3D Platformer + Hack and Slash

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hack and Slash 3D Platformer?

3D Platformer + Hack and Slash

Of 81 developers who shipped a Hack and Slash 3D Platformer in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 212 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $600k, ×971 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 212 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 212 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
3D Platformer + Hack and Slash
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 81
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $505 → $599 → $11k → $539 → $1.7k → $449 (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 3D Platformer + Hack and Slash: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 81
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $8.1k (exactly $8,095)
Top 5% $610k (exactly $609,895)
Developers, 2 yr 81
Released games 289
Announced 212
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue flat on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

3D Platformer
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Hack and Slash
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
3D Platformer, Hack and Slash; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 8,883 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $720, 1 in 4 over $8.0k, 1 in 20 over $600k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 212 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

3D Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + TransportationFair13 devs · median $3.1k · 12 announced
  2. + MiningFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair36 devs · median $748 · 29 announced
  4. + GolfFair16 devs · median $719 · 16 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair44 devs · median $716 · 39 announced
  6. + SokobanFair12 devs · median $599 · 9 announced
  7. + Survival HorrorFair111 devs · median $539 · 104 announced
  8. + Perma DeathFair36 devs · median $537 · 36 announced
  9. + AutomationFair25 devs · median $450 · 21 announced
  10. + OffroadLong shot14 devs · median $478 · 12 announced
  11. + Looter ShooterLong shot23 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  12. + CatsLong shot66 devs · median $420 · 74 announced

All 216 pairs on the 3D Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sonic Frontiers older $39.99 22,701 90% 681k $27M (exactly $27,234,390) Sonic Team
Persona® 5 Strikers older $59.99 12,864 88% 386k $23M (exactly $23,151,341) ATLUS
Death's Door older $19.99 19,330 93% 580k $12M (exactly $11,592,201) Acid Nerve
Alice: Madness Returns older $9.99 27,795 90% 834k $8.3M (exactly $8,330,162) Spicy Horse Games
ENSLAVED™: Odyssey to the West™ Premium Edition older $19.99 5,789 86% 174k $3.5M (exactly $3,471,663) Ninja Theory
Hob older $19.99 4,667 88% 140k $2.8M (exactly $2,798,800) Runic Games
Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered $29.99 3,042 90% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,736,887) Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics
Soulstice older $39.99 1,845 76% 55k $2.2M (exactly $2,213,446) Reply Game Studios
Solar Ash older $39.99 1,354 90% 41k $1.6M (exactly $1,624,394) Heart Machine
Prince of Persia®: The Sands of Time older $9.99 5,045 85% 151k $1.5M (exactly $1,511,986) Kudosoft
Duskfade $29.99 793 91% 24k $713k (exactly $713,462) Weird Beluga
KYOTO XANADU -the Blooming Phantom- $54.99 403 78% 12k $665k (exactly $664,829) Nihon Falcom
Clone Drone in the Hyperdome $19.99 1,048 91% 31k $628k (exactly $628,486) Doborog Games
Bloodthief $19.99 1,017 95% 31k $610k (exactly $609,895) Blargis
Shady Knight $19.99 898 93% 27k $539k (exactly $538,531) Alexey 'cptnsigh'
The Knightling $29.99 495 86% 15k $445k (exactly $445,352) Twirlbound
HOTEL BARCELONA $29.99 269 71% 8.1k $242k (exactly $242,019) White Owls Inc.
Stickman Strikes: Conquer Fantasy World $11.99 642 78% 19k $231k (exactly $230,927) LGaoGame
Cultivation Magic World · EA $12.99 276 78% 8.3k $108k (exactly $107,557) DMG Studio

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.