Do I ship it?

Games › Crafting › Crafting + Hack and Slash

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crafting Hack and Slash game?

Crafting + Hack and Slash

Of 96 developers who shipped a Crafting 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.. 251 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $9.4k, ×15 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.6M, ×2629 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 251 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 14.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 251 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Hack and Slash
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 96
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $1.5k → $12k → $11k → $123k → $4.4k → $9.5k (still earning) → $15k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Hack and Slash: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 96
Bottom 30% $2.2k (exactly $2,157)
Median $9.4k (exactly $9,353)
Top 25% $186k (exactly $185,965)
Top 5% $1.7M (exactly $1,650,839)
Developers, 2 yr 96
Released games 267
Announced 251
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 20% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Crafting
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
Crafting, Hack and Slash; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Action RPG
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 222,571 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.2k, median $9.4k, 1 in 4 over $180k, 1 in 20 over $1.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.2k. 6 in 10 of the 45 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 251 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  2. + SportsFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  4. + IdlerFair235 devs · median $1.7k · 338 announced
  5. + SolitaireFair12 devs · median $809 · 20 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds17 devs · median $174k · 39 announced
  7. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  10. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced

All 200 pairs on the Crafting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Path of Exile 2 2024 · EA · $151M Grim Dawn 2016 · $70M Dead Island 2 2024 · $35M WILD HEARTS™ 2023 · $22M The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Path of Exile 2 · EA $29.99 167,730 76% 5.0M $151M (exactly $150,906,681) Grinding Gear Games
Grim Dawn older $24.99 92,979 93% 2.8M $70M (exactly $69,706,356) Crate Entertainment
Dead Island 2 older $49.99 23,309 77% 699k $35M (exactly $34,956,507) Dambuster Studios
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
Titan Quest II · EA $34.99 17,398 81% 522k $18M (exactly $18,262,681) Grimlore Games
Craftopia · EA older $24.99 17,705 76% 531k $13M (exactly $13,273,438) Pocketpair
Soulstone Survivors $14.99 25,749 91% 772k $12M (exactly $11,579,325) Game Smithing Limited
How to Survive older $14.99 13,990 82% 420k $6.3M (exactly $6,291,303) Eko Software
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.
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
Renown · EA $24.99 1,128 53% 34k $846k (exactly $845,662) RDBK Studios
Wild Woods · EA $14.99 1,746 78% 52k $785k (exactly $785,176) Octofox Games
Anomaly President · EA $14.99 1,376 91% 41k $619k (exactly $618,787) Phew Phew Games
Dimraeth · EA $21.99 889 80% 27k $586k (exactly $586,473) Mudtek

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