Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Boss Rush
Should I ship a Boss Rush Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Boss Rush
Only 13 developers shipped a Boss Rush Hack and Slash 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, Dinoblade, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 39 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×5.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $1.4M, ×2311 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 39 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.5k (exactly $3,506) |
| Top 25% | $6.7k (exactly $6,742) |
| Top 5% | $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 27 |
| Announced | 39 |
| 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 down 35% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Hack and Slash
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Boss Rush
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hack and Slash, Boss Rush; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 2,662 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hack and Slash with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Turn-BasedStrong odds
- + Turn-Based CombatStrong odds
- + VampiresFair
- + ModernFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + RomancePoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + DestructionPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
Comparable games
Tribes of Midgard 2021 · $10M 
Furi 2016 · $6.7M 
Eldest Souls 2021 · $1.9M 
Dinoblade 2026 · $1.5M 
NanoApostle 2024 · $710k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tribes of Midgard | older | $19.99 | 17,465 76% | 524k | $10M (exactly $10,473,760) | Norsfell |
| | Furi | older | $19.99 | 11,246 90% | 337k | $6.7M (exactly $6,744,226) | The Game Bakers |
| | Eldest Souls | older | $19.99 | 3,125 76% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,874,062) | Fallen Flag Studio |
| | Dinoblade | $19.99 | 2,420 90% | 73k | $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274) | Team Spino LLC | |
| | NanoApostle | older | $19.99 | 1,184 95% | 36k | $710k (exactly $710,045) | 18Light Game Ltd. |
 | Perennial Order | older | $19.99 | 687 93% | 21k | $412k (exactly $411,994) | Gardenfiend Games |
 | Box Knight | $14.99 | 48 93% | 1.4k | $22k (exactly $21,586) | We Made A Thing Studios | |
 | ABYSSAL BLADE | $4.99 | 92 96% | 2.8k | $14k (exactly $13,772) | Vifer Games | |
 | 99 Waves | older | $3.99 | 96 90% | 2.9k | $11k (exactly $11,491) | Cold9, Cosnow |
 | Starry Knight | older | $2.99 | 126 80% | 3.8k | $11k (exactly $11,302) | Peace Blvd Games |
 | Scarlet City of Devils | $8.99 | 25 88% | 750 | $6.7k (exactly $6,742) | Shademare | |
 | Baseless | $12.99 | 15 93% | 450 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | Fermenter Games | |
 | Spirited Line | $4.99 | 26 92% | 780 | $3.9k (exactly $3,892) | Eazy Wizard | |
 | Clearing Blade | · EA | $8.99 | 13 92% | 390 | $3.5k (exactly $3,506) | Devdepot |
 | InTheLake | $4.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) | ZhiZhi | |
 | Dragon Knight | $9.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | MachNone | |
 | Honey Bee With Guns | · EA | $9.99 | 3 33% | 90 | $899 (exactly $899) | Ation Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.