Do I ship it?

Games › Gun Customization › Gun Customization + Hack and Slash

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Gun Customization Hack and Slash game?

Gun Customization + Hack and Slash

Of 23 developers who shipped a Gun Customization 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.. 50 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $530k, ×851 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 50 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 50 announced, ×4.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Gun Customization + Hack and Slash
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $97k → $3.6k → $958 → $4.0k → $1.1k (still earning) → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Gun Customization + Hack and Slash: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $8.4k (exactly $8,392)
Top 5% $534k (exactly $534,365)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 58
Announced 50
Effort 6 / 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 85% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Gun Customization
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Hack and Slash
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Gun Customization, Hack and Slash; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, Bullet Hell
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 6,156 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $8.3k, 1 in 20 over $530k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Gun Customization with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Tower DefenseFair26 devs · median $958 · 32 announced
  2. + DystopianPoor odds16 devs · median $51k · 58 announced
  3. + Immersive SimPoor odds12 devs · median $25k · 44 announced
  4. + BuildingPoor odds13 devs · median $16k · 39 announced
  5. + Survival HorrorPoor odds26 devs · median $14k · 55 announced
  6. + ModernPoor odds18 devs · median $14k · 38 announced
  7. + MilitaryPoor odds50 devs · median $13k · 126 announced
  8. + StealthPoor odds20 devs · median $13k · 63 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds31 devs · median $11k · 92 announced
  10. + MechsPoor odds12 devs · median $11k · 32 announced
  11. + Resource ManagementPoor odds28 devs · median $11k · 71 announced
  12. + Base BuildingPoor odds23 devs · median $9.1k · 64 announced

All 93 pairs on the Gun Customization page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

MADNESS: Project Nexus 2021 · $12M M.A.S.S. Builder 2025 · $2.8M Killsquad 2021 · $2.6M NIMRODS 2024 · EA · $534k Anima : The Reign of Darkness 2021 · $220k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MADNESS: Project Nexus older $24.99 15,977 97% 479k $12M (exactly $11,977,957) GIBBING TREE, LLC
M.A.S.S. Builder $24.99 3,729 85% 112k $2.8M (exactly $2,795,631) Vermillion Digital
Killsquad older $29.99 2,839 71% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Novarama
NIMRODS · EA $9.99 1,783 85% 53k $534k (exactly $534,365) Fiveamp
Anima : The Reign of Darkness older $11.99 613 69% 18k $220k (exactly $220,496) Redeev
EVERSLAUGHT · EA older $19.99 336 61% 10k $201k (exactly $201,499) MobX GmbH
Knights Within · EA older $17.99 250 95% 7.5k $135k (exactly $134,925) Indecision Labs
LEVEL UP 80 older $39.99 99 79% 3.0k $119k (exactly $118,770) Galactic Geckon
Slavania older $15.99 202 61% 6.1k $97k (exactly $96,899) FrostLeaf Games LLC
Time Treker $6.99 399 65% 12k $84k (exactly $83,670) Fuse Game
Ghosts Keep Out $3.99 130 75% 3.9k $16k (exactly $15,561) Only Fun Games
Seven Cities · EA $14.99 32 87% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) IMV Studio
ZIX · EA $9.99 28 78% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) Hidden IO
Deadzone Haunt $14.99 18 83% 540 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) GeamGames
Magical Hellhound Lust · EA $19.99 13 53% 390 $7.8k (exactly $7,796) Mildaponno
Knights In A Different SpaceTime $11.99 11 100% 330 $4.0k (exactly $3,957) Destreon Games
Torch of Shadows $7.99 13 92% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Acthera Studios

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