Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + LGBTQ+
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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Hack and Slash with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Turn-BasedStrong odds
- + Turn-Based CombatStrong odds
- + VampiresFair
- + ModernFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + RomancePoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + DestructionPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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