Do I ship it?

GamesHack and SlashHack and Slash + Dating Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dating Sim Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Dating Sim

Only 11 developers shipped a Dating Sim 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, DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 17 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $8.5k against a market of $630. 17 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 13.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 20460% on the market, 17 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Dating Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $66k → $61k → $8.5k → $59
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Dating Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $8.5k (exactly $8,499)
Top 25% $741k (exactly $741,415)
Top 5% $41M (exactly $41,107,927)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 37
Announced 17
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 up 20460% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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
Dating Sim
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, Dating Sim
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 26,795 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $8.5k, 1 in 4 over $740k, 1 in 20 over $41M.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 17 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal older $19.99 190,184 56% 5.7M $114M (exactly $114,053,345) 鬼谷工作室
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS $69.99 19,578 92% 587k $41M (exactly $41,107,927) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Fate Seeker II older $22.60 11,360 88% 341k $7.7M (exactly $7,702,080) JSL Entertainment
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition older $39.99 5,731 78% 172k $6.9M (exactly $6,875,481) AQURIA
Fate/EXTELLA older $39.99 4,091 91% 123k $4.9M (exactly $4,907,973) Marvelous Inc.
SENRAN KAGURA ESTIVAL VERSUS older $29.99 4,986 94% 150k $4.5M (exactly $4,485,904) Tamsoft
MOTORSLICE $19.99 5,467 85% 164k $3.3M (exactly $3,278,560) Regular Studio
Eternights older $29.99 3,046 85% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,740,486) Studio Sai
Killer is Dead - Nightmare Edition older $19.99 3,879 75% 116k $2.3M (exactly $2,326,236) KADOKAWA GAMES / GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE
Boyfriend Dungeon older $19.99 2,105 91% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,262,368) Kitfox Games
Mahou Arms $39.99 618 73% 19k $741k (exactly $741,415) Dischan Media
Nigate Tale $19.99 678 67% 20k $407k (exactly $406,597) Hermit Games, 2P Games
Tamer: King of Dinosaurs · EA $24.99 347 86% 10k $260k (exactly $260,146) Ride the Lion Studios
Alien Agent X · EA $3.99 71 57% 2.1k $8.5k (exactly $8,499) SGALIEN.Software.US
Dungeons of Desire · EA $7.99 27 44% 810 $6.5k (exactly $6,472) Fat Rooster
OKeverything with 3000 beauties 2 $9.99 1 100% 30 $300 (exactly $300) XIOF FAN, S+TEAMBABA, XU TING
Forever Virgin Simulator $0.99 6 66% 180 $178 (exactly $178) Alkinoy
Era $0.99 2 50% 60 $59 (exactly $59) Elaolive

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