Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Grid-Based Movement
Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Grid-Based Movement
Only 9 developers shipped a Grid-Based Movement 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, Path of the Abyss, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 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 $7.4k, ×12 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×222 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 19 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.4k (exactly $7,404) |
| Top 25% | $31k (exactly $30,869) |
| Top 5% | $139k (exactly $139,241) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 40 |
| Announced | 19 |
| 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 70% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, 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
- Grid-Based Movement
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hack and Slash, Grid-Based Movement
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 1,100 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 5 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hack and Slash with a different second tag, 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
FIGHT KNIGHT 2021 · $928k 
Wizardry: The Five Ordeals 2023 · $624k 
Path of the Abyss 2025 · $139k 
Dragon Ruins II 2025 · $63k 
Dragon Ruins 2024 · $55k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | FIGHT KNIGHT | older | $19.99 | 1,547 91% | 46k | $928k (exactly $927,736) | Team Sorcerobe |
| | Wizardry: The Five Ordeals | older | $39.99 | 520 85% | 16k | $624k (exactly $623,844) | 59 Studio |
| | Path of the Abyss | $6.99 | 664 92% | 20k | $139k (exactly $139,241) | Suzuki Suzuzou | |
| | Dragon Ruins II | $9.99 | 209 87% | 6.3k | $63k (exactly $62,637) | Graverobber Foundation | |
| | Dragon Ruins | older | $4.99 | 365 90% | 11k | $55k (exactly $54,640) | Graverobber Foundation |
 | Zorbus | older | $4.99 | 364 90% | 11k | $54k (exactly $54,491) | Zorbus |
 | Monster Girls and the Mysterious Adventure Remastered Edition | $9.99 | 103 94% | 3.1k | $31k (exactly $30,869) | NEKOTOKAGE GAMES | |
 | Red Ronin | older | $7.99 | 119 87% | 3.6k | $29k (exactly $28,524) | Wired Dreams Studio |
 | VERLIES II | older | $7.99 | 115 60% | 3.5k | $28k (exactly $27,566) | Koya Game |
 | Elminage ORIGINAL - Priestess of Darkness and The Ring of the Gods | older | $9.99 | 76 84% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $22,777) | Starfish-SD Inc, mebius |
 | Labyrinth of Aetheria | · EA | $14.00 | 44 90% | 1.3k | $18k (exactly $18,480) | Jimineko Games |
 | Slayer : the Demon Haunted World | $12.99 | 19 68% | 570 | $7.4k (exactly $7,404) | PLAY Mephistowaltz | |
 | Dragon Ruins II: Aftermath | $9.99 | 23 91% | 690 | $6.9k (exactly $6,893) | Graverobber Foundation | |
 | Navigating The Labyrinth | $14.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | Dragon Dropper | |
 | Toward The Ice | $14.99 | 12 41% | 360 | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) | Dragon Dropper | |
 | Cursed Soul | $4.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) | DakeCraft | |
 | Pixelarium: Free Lands | $14.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $1.3k (exactly $1,349) | Forja Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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