Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hack and Slash Management game?

Hack and Slash + Management

Only 16 developers shipped a Hack and Slash Management 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, Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 55 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×9.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $2.8M, ×4507 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 55 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.1 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 55 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Management
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: $12k → $2.4k → $16k → $5.7k (still earning) → $7.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $5.7k (exactly $5,694)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,676)
Top 5% $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 58
Announced 55
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 1400% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Hack and Slash
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Management; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action, Action RPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 5,500 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $5.7k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $2.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 55 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hack and Slash with a different second tag, 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

鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal 2023 · $114M Moonlighter 2018 · $10M Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale 2010 · $4.0M Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault 2026 · $2.8M Dragon Cliff 2018 · $2.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal older $19.99 190,184 56% 5.7M $114M (exactly $114,053,345) 鬼谷工作室
Moonlighter older $19.99 17,286 82% 519k $10M (exactly $10,366,414) Digital Sun
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale older $19.99 6,684 95% 201k $4.0M (exactly $4,008,395) EasyGameStation
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault $29.99 3,146 80% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) Digital Sun
Dragon Cliff older $9.99 7,679 88% 230k $2.3M (exactly $2,301,396) Meta Interaction
Cuisineer older $24.99 1,820 76% 55k $1.4M (exactly $1,364,454) BattleBrew Productions
Grand Ages: Medieval older $19.99 1,565 47% 47k $939k (exactly $938,530) Gaming Minds Studios
Fell & Sell $9.99 1,428 84% 43k $428k (exactly $427,972) Art Games Studio S.A.
Huaxia: Warring States · EA $19.99 701 61% 21k $420k (exactly $420,390) 秦川汉渚
Legendary Hoplite older $14.99 335 63% 10k $151k (exactly $150,650) TripleBricksGames
Besmirch · EA $9.99 79 97% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,676) Gangru Games
Zombie Liminal Fishing $13.99 21 85% 630 $8.8k (exactly $8,814) Chris Danelon
Old Coin Pusher Gaiden $3.99 66 63% 2.0k $7.9k (exactly $7,900) STP WORKS
Ultimate Blacksmith Tycoon ~The Appraiser-Shopkeeper Conquers the Blacksmith Trade~ · EA $14.99 15 80% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) Quench Forge
Mighty Meow $9.99 19 100% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) JamieDev
Nothing Beyond This Point $4.99 14 100% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Dieuwt
Incremental Vampire $2.99 11 63% 330 $987 (exactly $987) LobotoMax

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