Do I ship it?

GamesImmersive SimImmersive Sim + Hack and Slash

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hack and Slash Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Hack and Slash

Only 11 developers shipped a Hack and Slash Immersive Sim 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, Fatekeeper, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 41 more are announced, ×5.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240. 41 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.9 per shipper, while revenue is up 570% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 570% on the market, 41 announced, ×5.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Hack and Slash
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $9.2k → $449 → $1.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Hack and Slash: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $254k (exactly $253,603)
Top 5% $3.2M (exactly $3,178,318)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 43
Announced 41
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 570% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Immersive Sim
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low 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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, Hack and Slash
Price point
$7.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 9 games average 81% positive over 12,620 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 $720, 1 in 4 over $250k, 1 in 20 over $3.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
No Rest for the Wicked · EA older $39.99 66,102 80% 2.0M $79M (exactly $79,302,569) Moon Studios GmbH
Fatekeeper · EA $9.99 10,605 80% 318k $3.2M (exactly $3,178,318) Paraglacial
Dark Messiah of Might & Magic older $9.99 9,331 89% 280k $2.8M (exactly $2,796,501) Arkane Studios
Grimlord $29.99 927 78% 28k $834k (exactly $834,022) Metalcat Interactive Co.,Ltd
Evil School $7.99 1,058 92% 32k $254k (exactly $253,603) CineGame Interactive
Juice Galaxy · EA older $4.99 1,244 98% 37k $186k (exactly $186,227) Fishlicka
Detached older $24.99 233 62% 7.0k $175k (exactly $174,680) Anshar Studios
My Riding Stables: Life with Horses older $14.99 244 88% 7.3k $110k (exactly $109,727) Sproing
Fruit Ninja VR 2 older $24.99 74 75% 2.2k $55k (exactly $55,478) Halfbrick Studios Pty Ltd
Monster Collector · EA older $24.99 25 64% 750 $19k (exactly $18,742) go go go studio
Dough or Die · EA $7.99 16 100% 480 $3.8k (exactly $3,835) Soundbyte Interactive
Devil's Desk $13.99 4 100% 120 $1.7k (exactly $1,679) Dandy Dog
Kingdom Conquer $7.99 3 66% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Thomas Glazebrook
Motor Racing Battle $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Liquid Meow
Curse of Yggdrasil $3.99 2 100% 60 $239 (exactly $239) Lundtoft Development
Era $0.99 2 50% 60 $59 (exactly $59) Elaolive
VR Blade of Blocks $0.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) 夜行者

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