Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Dragons
Should I ship a Dragon Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Dragons
Of 34 developers who shipped a Dragon 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.. 76 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $1.6M, ×2673 the market median. Revenue is up 715% on the market; 76 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,672) |
| Top 25% | $63k (exactly $62,637) |
| Top 5% | $1.7M (exactly $1,678,578) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 150 |
| Announced | 76 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 715% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Dragons
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hack and Slash; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Action RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 15,749 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hack and Slash with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Turn-BasedStrong odds
- + Turn-Based CombatStrong odds
- + VampiresFair
- + ModernFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + RomancePoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + DestructionPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
Comparable games
Granblue Fantasy: Relink 2024 · $49M 
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen 2016 · $34M 
WILD HEARTS™ 2023 · $22M 
DragonSword : Awakening 2026 · $9.5M 
Cat Quest 2017 · $3.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Granblue Fantasy: Relink | older | $39.99 | 41,227 89% | 1.2M | $49M (exactly $49,460,032) | Cygames, Inc. |
| | Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen | older | $29.99 | 37,437 88% | 1.1M | $34M (exactly $33,682,069) | Capcom |
| | WILD HEARTS™ | older | $69.99 | 10,626 48% | 319k | $22M (exactly $22,311,412) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | DragonSword : Awakening | $29.99 | 10,568 90% | 317k | $9.5M (exactly $9,508,030) | Hound13 Inc. | |
| | Cat Quest | older | $12.99 | 8,371 94% | 251k | $3.3M (exactly $3,262,179) | The Gentlebros |
 | Dragonkin: The Banished | $24.99 | 2,239 72% | 67k | $1.7M (exactly $1,678,578) | Eko Software | |
 | Hammerwatch II | older | $24.99 | 1,871 60% | 56k | $1.4M (exactly $1,402,689) | Crackshell |
 | DRAGON QUEST HEROES™ Slime Edition | older | $39.99 | 1,150 67% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,379,655) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
 | Shining Resonance Refrain | older | $29.99 | 928 72% | 28k | $835k (exactly $834,922) | SEGA |
 | GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon | older | $24.99 | 963 76% | 29k | $722k (exactly $721,961) | KONAMI, GuruGuru |
 | Huaxia: Warring States | · EA | $19.99 | 701 61% | 21k | $420k (exactly $420,390) | 秦川汉渚 |
 | Dragon Is Dead | $19.99 | 661 75% | 20k | $396k (exactly $396,402) | TeamSuneat | |
 | Soul's Chronicle: Immortal Slayer | $14.99 | 441 77% | 13k | $198k (exactly $198,318) | 正向星光工作室 | |
 | Loot Tycoon | · EA | $6.99 | 544 71% | 16k | $114k (exactly $114,077) | Parallel Portal |
 | Cladun X3 | $39.99 | 83 90% | 2.5k | $100k (exactly $99,575) | Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. | |
 | Dragonhold | $19.99 | 163 68% | 4.9k | $98k (exactly $97,751) | Exis Games | |
 | Dragon Ruins II | $9.99 | 209 87% | 6.3k | $63k (exactly $62,637) | Graverobber Foundation | |
 | Black Dragon Mage | · EA | $5.99 | 140 70% | 4.2k | $25k (exactly $25,158) | datablob |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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