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Should I ship an Idler Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Idler
Of 32 developers who shipped a paid Idler 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.. 4 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 50 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.4k, ×10 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.1k. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 50 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.1k (exactly $1,076) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.4k (exactly $6,437) |
| Top 25% | $67k (exactly $67,104) |
| Top 5% | $300k (exactly $300,459) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 95 |
| Announced | 50 |
| 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 440% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 41%, 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
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hack and Slash, Idler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Loot, RPG, Incremental
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 5,810 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Hack and Slash with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Turn-BasedStrong odds
- + Turn-Based CombatStrong odds
- + VampiresFair
- + ModernFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + RomancePoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + DestructionPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
Comparable games
Dragon Cliff 2018 · $2.3M 
Ghost of Dragon 2022 · EA · $458k 
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising 2026 · $348k 
Dark Hunting Ground 2025 · $300k 
XiuzhenWorld 2024 · $170k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dragon Cliff | older | $9.99 | 7,679 88% | 230k | $2.3M (exactly $2,301,396) | Meta Interaction |
| | Ghost of Dragon | · EA older | $19.99 | 764 40% | 23k | $458k (exactly $458,171) | Meta Interaction |
| | Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising | $9.99 | 1,160 77% | 35k | $348k (exactly $347,652) | Small Mill, Small Mill | |
| | Dark Hunting Ground | $12.99 | 771 92% | 23k | $300k (exactly $300,459) | BingX | |
| | XiuzhenWorld | older | $12.99 | 436 75% | 13k | $170k (exactly $169,909) | Noforgetit |
 | Zad Archery | $6.99 | 803 73% | 24k | $168k (exactly $168,389) | Samharia Studios | |
 | Bones and Coins | $7.99 | 638 72% | 19k | $153k (exactly $152,929) | Troyd Games | |
 | Legendary Hoplite | older | $14.99 | 335 63% | 10k | $151k (exactly $150,650) | TripleBricksGames |
 | Journey to Incrementalia | $4.99 | 894 86% | 27k | $134k (exactly $133,832) | Adam Travers | |
 | Doom Sweeper | older | $4.99 | 782 72% | 23k | $117k (exactly $117,065) | Paper Dog |
 | Loot Tycoon | · EA | $6.99 | 544 71% | 16k | $114k (exactly $114,077) | Parallel Portal |
 | Cultivation Magic World | · EA | $12.99 | 276 78% | 8.3k | $108k (exactly $107,557) | DMG Studio |
 | Legends of Wasteland | $6.99 | 320 62% | 9.6k | $67k (exactly $67,104) | 清友工作室 | |
 | Book of Fei | $2.99 | 347 93% | 10k | $31k (exactly $31,126) | TAO Studio | |
 | 神魔山海经 Gods Monster | $11.99 | 57 59% | 1.7k | $21k (exactly $20,503) | 红尘背包客 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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