Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Mystery

Of 53 developers who shipped a Mystery Hack and Slash game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 151 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×404 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 151 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 151 announced, ×5.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 53
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.1k → $2.1k → $1.1k → $13k → $1.5k → $899 → $599 (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 53
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Top 5% $254k (exactly $253,603)
Developers, 2 yr 53
Released games 166
Announced 151
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.00

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 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Mystery
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Adventure
Price point
$8.00 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.00.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 17,902 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 151 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 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

Onimusha: Way of the Sword 2026 · $24M Judgment 2022 · $11M Echoes of Aincrad 2026 · $8.6M The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me 2022 · $4.5M SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY! 2024 · $2.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Onimusha: Way of the Sword $69.99 11,279 89% 338k $24M (exactly $23,682,516) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Judgment older $39.99 9,407 93% 282k $11M (exactly $11,285,578) RGG Studio
Echoes of Aincrad $69.99 4,108 47% 123k $8.6M (exactly $8,625,568) Game Studio Inc.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me older $39.99 3,778 56% 113k $4.5M (exactly $4,532,467) Supermassive Games
SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY! older $29.99 3,111 48% 93k $2.8M (exactly $2,798,967) Question
Eternights older $29.99 3,046 85% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,740,486) Studio Sai
Narita Boy older $24.99 1,162 79% 35k $871k (exactly $871,151) Studio Koba
Omensight: Definitive Edition older $19.99 1,174 88% 35k $704k (exactly $704,048) Spearhead Games
Touken Ranbu Warriors older $59.99 197 87% 5.9k $355k (exactly $354,541) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Evil School $7.99 1,058 92% 32k $254k (exactly $253,603) CineGame Interactive
Bendy: Lone Wolf $19.99 259 77% 7.8k $155k (exactly $155,322) Joey Drew Studios
Journey to Incrementalia $4.99 894 86% 27k $134k (exactly $133,832) Adam Travers
CODE Bunny $9.99 143 93% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) Team Seventh Star
Marko: Beyond Brave $19.50 47 65% 1.4k $27k (exactly $27,495) Studio Mechka
Ragnar $14.99 61 83% 1.8k $27k (exactly $27,432) Fimbulwinter Games
Mai: Child of Ages $14.99 34 88% 1.0k $15k (exactly $15,290) Chubby Pixel
Abyss: New Dawn · EA $24.99 19 63% 570 $14k (exactly $14,244) Aloya Productions

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