Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Dystopian

Of 37 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 103 more are announced, ×5.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.1k, ×9.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $23M, ×38165 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 103 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 103 announced, ×5.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $14k → $4.0k → $6.7k → $6.1k → $1.8k (still earning) → $6.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Median $6.1k (exactly $6,115)
Top 25% $49k (exactly $48,568)
Top 5% $24M (exactly $23,967,800)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 88
Announced 103
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 85% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Hack and Slash; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, RPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 88,887 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $6.1k, 1 in 4 over $48k, 1 in 20 over $23M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 103 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hack and Slash with a different setting or mood, 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

Stellar Blade™ 2025 · $110M AI LIMIT 2025 · $24M Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Anniversary Edition 2011 · $22M Remember Me 2013 · $10M RUINER 2017 · $6.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stellar Blade™ $59.99 61,289 93% 1.8M $110M (exactly $110,301,813) SHIFT UP Corporation
AI LIMIT $34.99 22,833 92% 685k $24M (exactly $23,967,800) Sense Games
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Anniversary Edition older $39.99 18,455 92% 554k $22M (exactly $22,140,464) Relic Entertainment
Remember Me older $29.99 11,128 83% 334k $10M (exactly $10,011,862) DONTNOD Entertainment
RUINER older $19.99 10,338 89% 310k $6.2M (exactly $6,199,699) Reikon Games
Going Under older $19.99 2,702 92% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) Aggro Crab
Wanted: Dead older $29.99 1,373 67% 41k $1.2M (exactly $1,235,288) Soleil Ltd.
Touhou Dystopian $9.99 2,161 97% 65k $648k (exactly $647,652) Kay Lnk
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Master Crafted Edition $39.99 342 55% 10k $410k (exactly $410,297) SneakyBox, Relic Entertainment
Slave Zero X older $24.99 438 75% 13k $328k (exactly $328,369) Poppy Works
Ascend to ZERO $11.99 867 82% 26k $312k (exactly $311,860) Flyway Games, Inc.
Kvark $19.99 461 86% 14k $276k (exactly $276,462) Latest Past, Perun Creative
Reignbreaker $9.99 444 75% 13k $133k (exactly $133,067) Studio Fizbin
9th Sentinel Sisters $7.99 273 69% 8.2k $65k (exactly $65,438) Live Wire
SONOKUNI $14.99 109 98% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) DON YASA CREW
Masks of the Void: Origins $14.99 108 97% 3.2k $49k (exactly $48,568) ROLLDBOX GAMES

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