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Should I ship a Hack and Slash FPS?
FPS + Hack and Slash
Of 55 developers who shipped a Hack and Slash FPS 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.. 120 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×1.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×294 the market median. Revenue is up 120% on the market; 120 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
| Top 25% | $8.5k (exactly $8,499) |
| Top 5% | $441k (exactly $440,779) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 55 |
| Released games | 196 |
| Announced | 120 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 120% on the market, supply as many developers as 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.
- FPS
- 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
- FPS, Hack and Slash; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 5,840 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 120 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
Dying Light 2015 · $280M 
MORDHAU 2019 · $82M 
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 2018 · $82M 
Killing Floor 2 2016 · $78M 
Chivalry 2 2022 · $56M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dying Light | older | $24.99 | 373,413 95% | 11M | $280M (exactly $279,947,726) | Techland |
| | MORDHAU | older | $29.99 | 91,678 80% | 2.8M | $82M (exactly $82,482,697) | Triternion |
| | Warhammer: Vermintide 2 | older | $29.99 | 91,013 84% | 2.7M | $82M (exactly $81,884,396) | Fatshark |
| | Killing Floor 2 | older | $29.99 | 87,158 88% | 2.6M | $78M (exactly $78,416,053) | Tripwire Interactive |
| | Chivalry 2 | older | $39.99 | 46,707 79% | 1.4M | $56M (exactly $56,034,388) | Torn Banner Studios |
 | Dead Island 2 | older | $49.99 | 23,309 77% | 699k | $35M (exactly $34,956,507) | Dambuster Studios |
 | Chivalry: Medieval Warfare | older | $24.99 | 44,486 83% | 1.3M | $33M (exactly $33,351,154) | Torn Banner Studios |
 | Bright Memory: Infinite | older | $19.99 | 36,229 91% | 1.1M | $22M (exactly $21,726,531) | FYQD-Studio |
 | Shadow Warrior 2 | older | $29.99 | 24,120 87% | 724k | $22M (exactly $21,700,764) | Flying Wild Hog |
 | Shadow Warrior | older | $29.99 | 15,960 92% | 479k | $14M (exactly $14,359,212) | Flying Wild Hog |
 | Endless Alice | · EA | $8.99 | 2,307 91% | 69k | $622k (exactly $622,198) | HowlingRain, 台灣響雨互娛, 響雨@OSAKA |
 | Shady Knight | $19.99 | 898 93% | 27k | $539k (exactly $538,531) | Alexey 'cptnsigh' | |
 | Priest Simulator: Vampire Show | $19.99 | 735 94% | 22k | $441k (exactly $440,779) | Asmodev | |
 | Kvark | $19.99 | 461 86% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Latest Past, Perun Creative | |
 | TAMASHIKA | $19.99 | 303 80% | 9.1k | $182k (exactly $181,709) | quicktequila | |
 | Darkblade Ascent | $10.99 | 551 80% | 17k | $182k (exactly $181,665) | PST Games | |
 | Hunters Inc | $14.99 | 155 56% | 4.7k | $70k (exactly $69,704) | WYLDERZONE | |
 | ENCHAIN | · EA | $19.99 | 94 96% | 2.8k | $56k (exactly $56,372) | mattlawrdev |
 | Hell of an Office | $14.99 | 121 89% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $54,414) | 43 Studios | |
 | Psionic Sentry : Infinite | · EA | $4.99 | 215 83% | 6.5k | $32k (exactly $32,186) | Roy, 響雨互動娛樂, HowlingRain |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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