Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Collectathon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Collectathon Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Collectathon

Of 32 developers who shipped a Collectathon 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.. 49 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $14k, ×22 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $710k, ×1136 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 49 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 22.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 49 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Collectathon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $120 → $1.8k → $838 → $3.0k → $15k → $1.8k → $14k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Collectathon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $838 (exactly $838)
Median $14k (exactly $14,086)
Top 25% $108k (exactly $107,557)
Top 5% $713k (exactly $713,462)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 92
Announced 49
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 80% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Collectathon
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Hack and Slash, Collectathon; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 7,993 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $840, median $14k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $710k.

3 in 10 developers made under $840. 5 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hack and Slash with a different second tag, 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

Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land 2025 · $5.3M Soundfall 2022 · $896k Duskfade 2026 · $713k Metal Bringer 2025 · $665k Rustil: Eternal Labyrinth Castle 2026 · $541k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land $69.99 2,534 64% 76k $5.3M (exactly $5,320,640) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Soundfall older $29.99 996 73% 30k $896k (exactly $896,101) Drastic Games
Duskfade $29.99 793 91% 24k $713k (exactly $713,462) Weird Beluga
Metal Bringer $19.99 1,109 87% 33k $665k (exactly $665,067) ALPHAWING Inc.
Rustil: Eternal Labyrinth Castle $18.99 950 71% 29k $541k (exactly $541,215) KTMG LLC.
Samurai Bringer older $9.99 1,012 87% 30k $303k (exactly $303,296) ALPHAWING Inc.
Sea Fantasy $14.99 585 86% 18k $263k (exactly $263,074) METASLA
9th Dawn Remake $15.99 514 86% 15k $247k (exactly $246,566) Valorware
Almighty: Kill Your Gods · EA older $24.99 321 61% 9.6k $241k (exactly $240,654) RUNWILD Entertainment
9th Dawn III older $15.99 501 87% 15k $240k (exactly $240,330) Valorware
硬币与仙人掌 (Coins & Wishpalm) $13.99 343 77% 10k $144k (exactly $143,957) Moshow Games
Cultivation Magic World · EA $12.99 276 78% 8.3k $108k (exactly $107,557) DMG Studio
Maiden Cops $9.99 282 87% 8.5k $85k (exactly $84,515) Pippin Games
DigDigDrill $3.99 607 95% 18k $73k (exactly $72,658) Toorai

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