Do I ship it?

GamesAutomationAutomation + Hack and Slash

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hack and Slash Automation game?

Automation + Hack and Slash

Only 12 developers shipped a Hack and Slash Automation game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $21k, ×33 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×554 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 26 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 33.1 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 26 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Hack and Slash
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $1.2k → $22k (still earning) → $1.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Hack and Slash: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $1.4k (exactly $1,435)
Median $21k (exactly $20,771)
Top 25% $108k (exactly $107,557)
Top 5% $348k (exactly $347,652)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 33
Announced 26
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 400% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 33%, 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.

Automation
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Automation, Hack and Slash
Price point
$7.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 2,629 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $21k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 4 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Automation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds36 devs · median $57k · 31 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistStrong odds27 devs · median $4.5k · 32 announced
  3. + Open World Survival CraftFair28 devs · median $307k · 37 announced
  4. + HorrorFair19 devs · median $8.0k · 29 announced
  5. + HistoricalFair26 devs · median $7.9k · 24 announced
  6. + UndergroundFair20 devs · median $7.4k · 32 announced
  7. + Class-BasedFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  8. + MiningFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair112 devs · median $4.5k · 153 announced
  10. + ProgrammingFair84 devs · median $3.8k · 102 announced
  11. + FishingFair40 devs · median $3.4k · 46 announced
  12. + Turn-Based TacticsFair28 devs · median $2.9k · 36 announced

All 135 pairs on the Automation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Craftopia · EA older $24.99 17,705 76% 531k $13M (exactly $13,273,438) Pocketpair
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising $9.99 1,160 77% 35k $348k (exactly $347,652) Small Mill, Small Mill
XiuzhenWorld older $12.99 436 75% 13k $170k (exactly $169,909) Noforgetit
Bioweaver $6.99 668 77% 20k $140k (exactly $140,080) Emprom Game, Wild Kid Games
Cultivation Magic World · EA $12.99 276 78% 8.3k $108k (exactly $107,557) DMG Studio
Legends of Wasteland $6.99 320 62% 9.6k $67k (exactly $67,104) 清友工作室
Shattered Realm Rebirth · EA $13.99 52 88% 1.6k $22k (exactly $21,824) kingnagame
DarkStone Restoration · EA $10.99 63 96% 1.9k $21k (exactly $20,771) Paul Cuisset
Living With Dragons older $12.99 30 80% 900 $12k (exactly $11,691) Abysmal Fury Games Inc.
Bioprototype $4.99 50 86% 1.5k $7.5k (exactly $7,485) Emprom Game
BBS (Bulletin Board System) Magica $9.99 15 86% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) ねむねむおかき
dark cultivation · EA $2.99 16 81% 480 $1.4k (exactly $1,435) 亦如小草
Motelet $2.99 9 100% 270 $807 (exactly $807) Team Baeb Sae

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