Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Military

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Military Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Military

Only 15 developers shipped a Military 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, Huaxia: Warring States, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 29 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper, while revenue is up 65% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 65% on the market, 29 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Military
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $423k → $150 → $898 → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Military: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $419 (exactly $419)
Top 25% $2.9k (exactly $2,878)
Top 5% $420k (exactly $420,390)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 56
Announced 29
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 65% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Military
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Hack and Slash
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 63% positive over 803 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $420, 1 in 4 over $2.8k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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

Mount & Blade: Warband 2010 · $81M Chivalry 2 2022 · $56M Sons of Valhalla 2024 · $508k METAL DOGS 2023 · $459k Project MIKHAIL: A Muv-Luv War Story 2024 · $423k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mount & Blade: Warband older $19.99 135,425 97% 4.1M $81M (exactly $81,214,372) TaleWorlds Entertainment
Chivalry 2 older $39.99 46,707 79% 1.4M $56M (exactly $56,034,388) Torn Banner Studios
Sons of Valhalla older $19.99 847 66% 25k $508k (exactly $507,946) Pixel Chest
METAL DOGS older $19.99 766 81% 23k $459k (exactly $459,370) 24Frame,inc.
Project MIKHAIL: A Muv-Luv War Story older $19.99 706 54% 21k $423k (exactly $423,388) aNCHOR Inc., fuzz, Inc.
Huaxia: Warring States · EA $19.99 701 61% 21k $420k (exactly $420,390) 秦川汉渚
Zombie Training Simulator older $19.99 227 92% 6.8k $136k (exactly $136,132) Acceleroto, Inc.
Doom Sweeper older $4.99 782 72% 23k $117k (exactly $117,065) Paper Dog
Heroes of Three Kingdoms · EA older $9.99 190 49% 5.7k $57k (exactly $56,943) Wuwei
Blackwind older $24.99 46 52% 1.4k $34k (exactly $34,486) Drakkar Dev
Lords and Legions · EA $18.99 59 74% 1.8k $34k (exactly $33,612) Warborne Studios
Deadzone Haunt $14.99 18 83% 540 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) GeamGames
Broad Sword $11.99 8 100% 240 $2.9k (exactly $2,878) Refractal Studio
Paddle Protectors $5.99 5 60% 150 $898 (exactly $898) Huhi Games
Kingdom Conquer $7.99 3 66% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Thomas Glazebrook
Red River $2.99 5 100% 150 $449 (exactly $449) Chesser
Stickman Physics Battle Arena $6.99 2 100% 60 $419 (exactly $419) Kyle Hawks
CAMP Z: THE AWAKENING $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) FEAR NO EVIL GAMES LLC.
Tower Defense $4.99 1 0% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Taranau Aliaksei

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