Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Deckbuilding

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Deckbuilding Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Deckbuilding

Of 30 developers who shipped a Deckbuilding 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.. 58 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×8.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×393 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 58 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 58 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Deckbuilding
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $1.4k → $360 → $122k → $7.5k → $11k → $240 (still earning) → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Deckbuilding: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Median $5.1k (exactly $5,095)
Top 25% $122k (exactly $121,678)
Top 5% $247k (exactly $246,566)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 59
Announced 58
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 75% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Hack and Slash, Deckbuilding; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Roguelite
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 6,226 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.8k, median $5.1k, 1 in 4 over $120k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 5 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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

Book of Demons 2018 · $6.0M Hand of Fate 2015 · $4.8M Hand of Fate 2 2017 · $4.7M One Step From Eden 2020 · $3.6M Dice & Fold 2024 · $1.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Book of Demons older $24.99 8,010 91% 240k $6.0M (exactly $6,005,097) Thing Trunk
Hand of Fate older $19.99 8,009 89% 240k $4.8M (exactly $4,802,997) Defiant Development
Hand of Fate 2 older $29.99 5,273 84% 158k $4.7M (exactly $4,744,118) Defiant Development
One Step From Eden older $19.99 6,039 94% 181k $3.6M (exactly $3,621,588) Thomas Moon Kang
Dice & Fold older $12.99 3,491 83% 105k $1.4M (exactly $1,360,443) Tinymice Entertainment
OVIS LOOP · EA $16.99 1,083 88% 32k $552k (exactly $552,005) LIFUEL
FORCED SHOWDOWN older $19.99 491 82% 15k $294k (exactly $294,453) BetaDwarf
9th Dawn Remake $15.99 514 86% 15k $247k (exactly $246,566) Valorware
Slime 3K: Rise Against Despot $4.99 1,584 79% 48k $237k (exactly $237,125) Konfa Games
Bones and Coins $7.99 638 72% 19k $153k (exactly $152,929) Troyd Games
Bioweaver $6.99 668 77% 20k $140k (exactly $140,080) Emprom Game, Wild Kid Games
DreamEcho $11.99 369 79% 11k $133k (exactly $132,729) HotWaterStudio
Legacy of Defense $7.99 545 72% 16k $131k (exactly $130,636) Enter the Game Studios
Archons $9.99 406 92% 12k $122k (exactly $121,678) BulletHell Studios
Forest Heroes $9.99 278 83% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Hoochoo Game Studios
I will purify you $13.99 141 78% 4.2k $59k (exactly $59,178) Cheese Burger Studio

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