Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Hack and Slash

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Hack and Slash game?

Building + Hack and Slash

Of 37 developers who shipped a Building Hack and Slash game 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.. 104 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 $11k, ×17 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.6M, ×2606 the market median. Revenue is up 1380% on the market; 104 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 17.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 1380% on the market, 104 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Hack and Slash
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $1.5k → $12k → $2.4k → $169k → $34k → $71k (still earning) → $41k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Hack and Slash: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $3.1k (exactly $3,148)
Median $11k (exactly $10,793)
Top 25% $233k (exactly $233,283)
Top 5% $1.6M (exactly $1,636,554)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 110
Announced 104
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $14.99

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 up 1380% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Building
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
Building, Hack and Slash; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Base Building
Price point
$14.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 11,405 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.2k, median $11k, 1 in 4 over $230k, 1 in 20 over $1.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.2k. 6 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 104 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

WILD HEARTS™ 2023 · $22M The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M Myth of Empires 2024 · $14M Craftopia 2020 · EA · $13M Crashlands 2 2025 · $1.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
WILD HEARTS™ older $69.99 10,626 48% 319k $22M (exactly $22,311,412) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
The Riftbreaker older $29.99 22,127 90% 664k $20M (exactly $19,907,662) EXOR Studios
Myth of Empires older $29.99 15,520 68% 466k $14M (exactly $13,963,344) Angela Game
Craftopia · EA older $24.99 17,705 76% 531k $13M (exactly $13,273,438) Pocketpair
Crashlands 2 $24.99 2,202 88% 66k $1.7M (exactly $1,650,839) Butterscotch Shenanigans
Cloudheim · EA $29.99 1,819 81% 55k $1.6M (exactly $1,636,554) Noodle Cat Games
Frozen Flame · EA older $19.99 2,231 61% 67k $1.3M (exactly $1,337,931) Dreamside Interactive
Renown · EA $24.99 1,128 53% 34k $846k (exactly $845,662) RDBK Studios
Monsters are Coming! $8.99 2,718 79% 82k $733k (exactly $733,045) Ludogram
Regions Of Ruin older $11.99 1,972 84% 59k $709k (exactly $709,328) Gameclaw Studio
Beyond the Map · EA $19.99 764 77% 23k $458k (exactly $458,171) Glitch Goblins
Human Host · EA $16.88 866 83% 26k $439k (exactly $438,542) Virtual Matrix Studio
Survival Machine $19.99 692 69% 21k $415k (exactly $414,992) Grape Pickers
Castle Craft $19.99 480 82% 14k $288k (exactly $287,856) Twin Earth
Tamer: King of Dinosaurs · EA $24.99 347 86% 10k $260k (exactly $260,146) Ride the Lion Studios
Regions of Ruin: Runegate $19.99 389 84% 12k $233k (exactly $233,283) Gameclaw Studio

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