Do I ship it?

GamesHack and SlashHack and Slash + Lovecraftian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Lovecraftian Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Lovecraftian

Only 16 developers shipped a Lovecraftian 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, Katanaut, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 35 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $11k, ×18 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×416 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 35 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 18.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 35 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Lovecraftian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $6.1k → $11k → $18k → $6.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Lovecraftian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $3.6k (exactly $3,593)
Median $11k (exactly $11,334)
Top 25% $48k (exactly $47,981)
Top 5% $261k (exactly $261,215)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 57
Announced 35
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $14.99

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 50% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Lovecraftian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
Price point
$14.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 1,382 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.6k, median $11k, 1 in 4 over $47k, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.6k. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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. + LGBTQ+Poor odds17 devs · median $33k · 20 announced
  12. + AutomationPoor odds12 devs · median $21k · 26 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
ICEY older $10.99 25,142 89% 754k $8.3M (exactly $8,289,317) FantaBlade Network
Hellpoint older $34.99 2,582 76% 77k $2.7M (exactly $2,710,325) Cradle Games
Eldest Souls older $19.99 3,125 76% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,062) Fallen Flag Studio
They Bleed Pixels older $9.99 2,040 84% 61k $611k (exactly $611,388) Spooky Squid Games Inc.
Perennial Order older $19.99 687 93% 21k $412k (exactly $411,994) Gardenfiend Games
Elderand older $19.99 552 75% 17k $331k (exactly $331,034) Mantra, Sinergia Games
Katanaut $17.99 484 88% 15k $261k (exactly $261,215) Voidmaw
Tombwater $24.99 282 92% 8.5k $211k (exactly $211,415) Moth Atlas
EVERSLAUGHT · EA older $19.99 336 61% 10k $201k (exactly $201,499) MobX GmbH
Morbid: The Lords of Ire older $24.99 241 68% 7.2k $181k (exactly $180,678) Still Running
RailGods of Hysterra · EA $19.99 290 51% 8.7k $174k (exactly $173,913) Troglobytes Games
Munch $16.66 96 60% 2.9k $48k (exactly $47,981) Mac n Cheese Games
Nullpoint Protocol $14.99 62 61% 1.9k $28k (exactly $27,881) Everbloom Games
Metavoidal $14.99 46 93% 1.4k $21k (exactly $20,686) Yellow Lab Games
Dead Wells: The Devil Fragment $14.99 40 70% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,988) Echo7Project
TOLD GOD - The legacy of cthulhu $17.99 21 76% 630 $11k (exactly $11,334) Obsession studio
Misty Land $8.99 24 79% 720 $6.5k (exactly $6,473) Branches Games
Rotting Valentine $4.99 37 48% 1.1k $5.5k (exactly $5,539) Era t'my

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