Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Hacking

Only 7 developers shipped a Hacking 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, Lia: Hacking Destiny, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $240 against a market of $630. 12 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 12 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 7
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $629 → $300 → $5.7k → $300
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 7
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 5% $41k (exactly $41,372)
Developers, 2 yr 7
Released games 30
Announced 12
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 45% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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
Hacking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 64% positive over 796 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.0k, 1 in 20 over $41k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 12 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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

Hack 'n' Slash 2014 · $216k Samurai Slaughter House 2023 · EA · $46k Lia: Hacking Destiny 2025 · $41k SpaceNET - A Space Adventure 2021 · $6.8k Parse-O-Rhythm 2024 · $6.0k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hack 'n' Slash older $13.37 538 57% 16k $216k (exactly $215,792) Double Fine Productions
Samurai Slaughter House · EA older $29.99 51 37% 1.5k $46k (exactly $45,885) Tab Games
Lia: Hacking Destiny $14.99 92 96% 2.8k $41k (exactly $41,372) Orube Game Studio
SpaceNET - A Space Adventure older $11.99 19 100% 570 $6.8k (exactly $6,834) Sonejo Studios
Parse-O-Rhythm older $9.99 20 100% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Encabulated Games
The Dark: Survival RPG · EA older $8.99 22 54% 660 $5.9k (exactly $5,933) Joseph Murray
OveRRooT older $9.99 19 100% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) Hexagony
Katana Rama older $4.99 24 79% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) Ghost Machine Games
HackeRPG · EA older $4.99 8 87% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Fellow Pablo
RoboSamurai $11.99 3 33% 90 $1.1k (exactly $1,079) metapika
MAYBE I CAN $9.99 1 0% 30 $300 (exactly $300) NIGHTCREW
NecroKitty $1.99 4 100% 120 $239 (exactly $239) GOTH PUPPY GAMES, thegoblinworks
STACK-eRZ · EA $9.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Smokey
Glitchers $14.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) PushStart Studio
Bushido Kensei The Last Warrior $1.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Ninja Studios

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