Games › CRPG › CRPG + Hack and Slash
Should I ship a Hack and Slash CRPG?
CRPG + Hack and Slash
Of 33 developers who shipped a Hack and Slash CRPG 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.. 63 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $960; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×247 the market median. Revenue is up 560% on the market; 63 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $958 (exactly $958) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.4k (exactly $3,356) |
| Top 25% | $20k (exactly $20,441) |
| Top 5% | $369k (exactly $369,415) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 120 |
| Announced | 63 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 up 560% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- CRPG
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Hack and Slash
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- CRPG, Hack and Slash; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action RPG, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 3,861 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $960. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + IncrementalLong shot
- + FMVPoor odds
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds
- + SpacePoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
Comparable games
Gujian3(古剑奇谭三) 2018 · $37M 
Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms 2024 · $1.6M 
Shadows: Awakening 2018 · $1.4M 
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2021 · $1.1M 
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II 2022 · $769k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Gujian3(古剑奇谭三) | older | $29.99 | 40,829 85% | 1.2M | $37M (exactly $36,733,851) | 上海烛龙信息科技有限公司, Aurogon Shanghai |
| | Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms | $34.99 | 1,559 72% | 47k | $1.6M (exactly $1,636,482) | Gamera Interactive | |
| | Shadows: Awakening | older | $29.99 | 1,535 75% | 46k | $1.4M (exactly $1,381,040) | Games Farm |
| | Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance | older | $39.99 | 954 81% | 29k | $1.1M (exactly $1,144,514) | Square One Games Inc., Black Isle Studi… (Square One Games Inc., Black Isle Studios) |
| | Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II | older | $39.99 | 641 79% | 19k | $769k (exactly $769,008) | Square One Games Inc., Black Isle Studi… (Square One Games Inc., Black Isle Studios) |
 | Divine Divinity | older | $5.99 | 3,612 87% | 108k | $649k (exactly $649,076) | Larian Studios |
 | Wizardry: The Five Ordeals | older | $39.99 | 520 85% | 16k | $624k (exactly $623,844) | 59 Studio |
 | Han Xiongnu Wars | older | $6.99 | 2,200 67% | 66k | $461k (exactly $461,340) | Shangshi Studio |
 | Labyrinth of Touhou Tri -The Dreaming Girls & The Mysterious Orbs- | $19.99 | 616 82% | 18k | $369k (exactly $369,415) | Nise-Eikoku Studio | |
 | EdgeOfTheAbyssAwaken | older | $18.99 | 542 67% | 16k | $309k (exactly $308,777) | TrinityBJ |
 | Weird RPG 2 | $9.99 | 795 92% | 24k | $238k (exactly $238,262) | yuzhen | |
 | 硬币与仙人掌 (Coins & Wishpalm) | $13.99 | 343 77% | 10k | $144k (exactly $143,957) | Moshow Games | |
 | Dungeon Antiqua 2 | $8.99 | 284 95% | 8.5k | $77k (exactly $76,595) | Shiromofu Factory | |
 | Magissy | $14.99 | 52 46% | 1.6k | $23k (exactly $23,384) | Bit Fat Games | |
 | Enarian Online | $14.99 | 48 83% | 1.4k | $22k (exactly $21,586) | Enarian Online | |
 | DarkStone Restoration | · EA | $10.99 | 63 96% | 1.9k | $21k (exactly $20,771) | Paul Cuisset |
 | Brave × Junction | $10.99 | 62 83% | 1.9k | $20k (exactly $20,441) | Rideon,Inc., RideonJapan | |
 | Willow Guard | $15.99 | 39 89% | 1.2k | $19k (exactly $18,708) | MiTale |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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