Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Cats

Only 16 developers shipped a Cat 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, Garden of Witches, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 50 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $1.1M, ×1794 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 50 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 50 announced, ×5.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.2k → $3.4k → $6.3k → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,296)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,126,867)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 51
Announced 50
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 10% on the market, supply 65% 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.

Hack and Slash
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Cats
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Hack and Slash
Price point
$6.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 2,188 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $1.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hack and Slash with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Turn-BasedStrong odds8 devs · median $14k · 1 announced
  2. + Turn-Based CombatStrong odds28 devs · median $3.7k · 27 announced
  3. + VampiresFair32 devs · median $7.2k · 37 announced
  4. + ModernFair13 devs · median $7.2k · 20 announced
  5. + IdlerFair32 devs · median $6.4k · 50 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair40 devs · median $1.7k · 57 announced
  7. + RomancePoor odds11 devs · median $119k · 25 announced
  8. + Visual NovelPoor odds11 devs · median $85k · 22 announced
  9. + Character Action GamePoor odds27 devs · median $58k · 80 announced
  10. + DestructionPoor odds19 devs · median $43k · 57 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds17 devs · median $33k · 20 announced
  12. + AutomationPoor odds12 devs · median $21k · 26 announced

All 175 pairs on the Hack and Slash page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cat Quest 2017 · $3.3M Cat Quest II 2019 · $2.6M No More Heroes 2021 · $1.4M Garden of Witches 2026 · $1.1M No More Heroes 3 2022 · $1.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cat Quest older $12.99 8,371 94% 251k $3.3M (exactly $3,262,179) The Gentlebros
Cat Quest II older $14.99 5,850 95% 176k $2.6M (exactly $2,630,745) The Gentlebros
No More Heroes older $19.99 2,264 84% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,357,721) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
Garden of Witches $18.99 1,978 92% 59k $1.1M (exactly $1,126,867) Team Tapas
No More Heroes 3 older $39.99 835 79% 25k $1.0M (exactly $1,001,750) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage older $21.99 1,434 96% 43k $946k (exactly $946,010) Angry Demon Studio
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle older $19.99 1,130 73% 34k $678k (exactly $677,661) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
Blade Kitten older $4.99 909 82% 27k $136k (exactly $136,077) Krome Studios
Cladun X3 $39.99 83 90% 2.5k $100k (exactly $99,575) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Tallowmere 2: Curse of the Kittens older $9.99 318 80% 9.5k $95k (exactly $95,305) Chris McFarland
SwooshCat $4.99 46 86% 1.4k $6.9k (exactly $6,886) PixelForestStudio
Yarn Guardians $14.99 14 100% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) pentapaw studios
Mighty Meow $9.99 19 100% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) JamieDev
Nyaz $7.99 14 85% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Altoterras Corporation
Vampire Cat $6.99 14 78% 420 $2.9k (exactly $2,936) Hunt Games
PAW ALLIANCE $4.99 11 63% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) Cotton Game
Soul Armors Recollect $5.99 7 100% 210 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) InitiaSnow, shuuji nishitani
Mochiko The Samurai $11.99 2 50% 60 $719 (exactly $719) FELICE INC

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