Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Hidden Object

Only 18 developers shipped a Hidden Object 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, Stonemachia, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $740k, ×1188 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 25 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 25 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $1.5k → $896 → $5.3k → $300 → $1.4k → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,024)
Top 5% $746k (exactly $746,027)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 69
Announced 25
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 20% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Hack and Slash, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 1,757 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $740k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hack and Slash with a different second tag, 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

Stonemachia 2026 · $746k Dungeon Digger 2024 · $118k Happy Souls 2024 · $44k Ortharion : The Last Battle 2025 · $25k Burial 2025 · $24k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stonemachia $19.99 1,244 95% 37k $746k (exactly $746,027) Crossfall Games
Dungeon Digger older $39.99 98 81% 2.9k $118k (exactly $117,571) Galactic Geckon
Happy Souls older $39.99 37 75% 1.1k $44k (exactly $44,389) Galactic Geckon
Ortharion : The Last Battle $9.99 83 63% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,875) Ortharion project
Burial $4.99 161 73% 4.8k $24k (exactly $24,102) REVVALUTION Studio
爆裂！スイーツランド - PANIC IN SWEETS LAND - older $24.99 24 66% 720 $18k (exactly $17,993) Sonic Powered Co.,Ltd.
You Are Grounded $4.99 120 84% 3.6k $18k (exactly $17,964) Romooll, REVVALUTION Studio
IMPETUM $4.99 87 60% 2.6k $13k (exactly $13,024) TrueGames
Castle Dark $19.99 19 94% 570 $11k (exactly $11,394) Wolfs Moon Studios
Chamber Survival older $15.99 11 27% 330 $5.3k (exactly $5,277) daminggede
Assassin of Monsters $3.99 14 78% 420 $1.7k (exactly $1,676) Saylor games
Assassin Of Goblin $3.99 12 66% 360 $1.4k (exactly $1,436) Saylor Games
Master Knight $3.99 11 72% 330 $1.3k (exactly $1,317) DIG Games
Sylva - Curse of the Demon Woods $6.99 6 100% 180 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) Alessandro Castiglione

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