Do I ship it?

GamesHack and SlashHack and Slash + LGBTQ+

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an LGBTQ+ Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + LGBTQ+

Only 17 developers shipped an LGBTQ+ 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, Hades II, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $33k, ×53 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $6.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $100M, ×163922 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 20 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 53.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 20 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + LGBTQ+
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $190k → $64k → $1.3k → $91k → $28k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + LGBTQ+: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $6.8k (exactly $6,760)
Median $33k (exactly $33,278)
Top 25% $91k (exactly $91,109)
Top 5% $103M (exactly $102,942,774)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 46
Announced 20
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 15% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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
LGBTQ+
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, Dungeon Crawler
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 148,364 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $6.8k, median $33k, 1 in 4 over $91k, 1 in 20 over $100M.

3 in 10 developers made under $6.8k. 5 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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. + AutomationPoor odds12 devs · median $21k · 26 announced
  12. + MechsPoor odds17 devs · median $16k · 40 announced

All 175 pairs on the Hack and Slash page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hades older $24.99 285,748 97% 8.6M $214M (exactly $214,225,276) Supergiant Games
Hades II $29.99 114,419 95% 3.4M $103M (exactly $102,942,774) Supergiant Games
God of War Ragnarök $59.99 32,502 89% 975k $58M (exactly $58,493,849) Santa Monica Studio, Jetpack Interactive
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown older $29.99 6,754 84% 203k $6.1M (exactly $6,076,574) Ubisoft Montpellier
Eternights older $29.99 3,046 85% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,740,486) Studio Sai
Boyfriend Dungeon older $19.99 2,105 91% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,262,368) Kitfox Games
SAMURAI MAIDEN older $59.99 648 60% 19k $1.2M (exactly $1,166,206) SHADE Inc.
VALKYRIE DRIVE -BHIKKHUNI- older $29.99 1,158 83% 35k $1.0M (exactly $1,041,853) Meteorise, HONEY∞PARADE GAMES
CRYSTAR older $19.99 1,400 76% 42k $840k (exactly $839,580) FURYU CORPORATION
Nights of Azure older $29.99 638 69% 19k $574k (exactly $574,009) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Gray Haven : Witch's Garden $21.99 319 76% 9.6k $210k (exactly $210,444) NINEHECTARE
Nakara $9.99 310 91% 9.3k $93k (exactly $92,907) R3dspike
Femtazio $9.99 304 81% 9.1k $91k (exactly $91,109) Aerisetta
TRON: Catalyst $19.99 104 71% 3.1k $62k (exactly $62,369) Bithell Games
Munch $16.66 96 60% 2.9k $48k (exactly $47,981) Mac n Cheese Games
CODE Bunny $9.99 143 93% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) Team Seventh Star
Rogue Labyrinth $14.99 74 98% 2.2k $33k (exactly $33,278) Tea Witch Games
Bobo's Big Tower $9.99 93 92% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,872) SillyKitty

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