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Should I ship an Incremental Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Incremental
Of 40 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 57 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $810. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 57 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $807 (exactly $807) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 25% | $31k (exactly $31,126) |
| Top 5% | $168k (exactly $168,389) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 94 |
| Announced | 57 |
| 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 up 25% on the market, supply 245% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 33%, 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
- Incremental
- effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hack and Slash, Incremental; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Adventure, Idler
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 5,253 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $810. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 31 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
- + IdlerFair
- + RomancePoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + DestructionPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
Comparable games
Book of Demons 2018 · $6.0M 
Dragon Cliff 2018 · $2.3M 
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising 2026 · $348k 
Zad Archery 2026 · $168k 
Bones and Coins 2026 · $153k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Book of Demons | older | $24.99 | 8,010 91% | 240k | $6.0M (exactly $6,005,097) | Thing Trunk |
| | Dragon Cliff | older | $9.99 | 7,679 88% | 230k | $2.3M (exactly $2,301,396) | Meta Interaction |
| | Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising | $9.99 | 1,160 77% | 35k | $348k (exactly $347,652) | Small Mill, Small Mill | |
| | 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 | |
 | Grindstone | older | $19.99 | 244 93% | 7.3k | $146k (exactly $146,327) | Capybara Games |
 | Journey to Incrementalia | $4.99 | 894 86% | 27k | $134k (exactly $133,832) | Adam Travers | |
 | Legacy of Defense | $7.99 | 545 72% | 16k | $131k (exactly $130,636) | Enter the Game Studios | |
 | Loot Tycoon | · EA | $6.99 | 544 71% | 16k | $114k (exactly $114,077) | Parallel Portal |
 | Dismantling Workshop of Bio-Girl | $29.99 | 120 61% | 3.6k | $108k (exactly $107,964) | 渡里laboratory | |
 | Legends of Wasteland | $6.99 | 320 62% | 9.6k | $67k (exactly $67,104) | 清友工作室 | |
 | Sera's Adventure -Cave of Destruction- | $18.99 | 76 53% | 2.3k | $43k (exactly $43,297) | 渡里laboratory | |
 | Loot Frog | $6.89 | 153 79% | 4.6k | $32k (exactly $31,625) | Clumsy Dog |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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