Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Nature

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Nature Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Nature

Of 32 developers who shipped a Nature 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.. 110 more are announced, ×5.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $840, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×168 the market median. Revenue is up 1245% on the market; 110 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 1245% on the market, 110 announced, ×5.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Nature
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.2k → $1.3k → $8.7k → $839 → $90 → $1.5k → $449 (still earning) → $900 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Nature: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $836 (exactly $836)
Top 25% $2.4k (exactly $2,397)
Top 5% $106k (exactly $105,574)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 116
Announced 110
Effort 5 / 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 1245% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 28%, 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
Nature
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Action RPG, Action Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 2,757 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 $840, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. Nearly all of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 110 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.8 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

Maneater 2021 · $26M WILD HEARTS™ 2023 · $22M Dinoblade 2026 · $1.5M Tribal Hunter 2022 · $629k Serum: Toxic Survival 2024 · EA · $190k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Maneater older $39.99 21,790 87% 654k $26M (exactly $26,141,463) Tripwire Interactive
WILD HEARTS™ older $69.99 10,626 48% 319k $22M (exactly $22,311,412) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Dinoblade $19.99 2,420 90% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274) Team Spino LLC
Tribal Hunter older $14.99 1,398 97% 42k $629k (exactly $628,681) Melonsoda Soft
Serum: Toxic Survival · EA older $24.99 253 45% 7.6k $190k (exactly $189,674) Game Island
Alice Escaped! older $19.99 307 82% 9.2k $184k (exactly $184,108) illuCalab
LEVEL UP 80 older $39.99 99 79% 3.0k $119k (exactly $118,770) Galactic Geckon
Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 $39.99 88 82% 2.6k $106k (exactly $105,574) AQUAPLUS
Animal Rescuer older $14.99 97 67% 2.9k $44k (exactly $43,621) Turquoise Revival Games
The Moon Hell older $10.99 128 80% 3.8k $42k (exactly $42,202) A.M. Team
Rogue Labyrinth $14.99 74 98% 2.2k $33k (exactly $33,278) Tea Witch Games
Desktop Heroes $5.99 103 69% 3.1k $19k (exactly $18,509) Telazer
Almora Darkosen $17.50 19 94% 570 $10k (exactly $9,975) Gear-Studio Grzegorz Borkowski
Triumvora $9.99 12 100% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Bliss by Bits
Nyaz $7.99 14 85% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Altoterras Corporation
Skullhunter A Worm's Tale $7.99 10 100% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) Oliver Arett
Red's Ascent $4.99 10 40% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Özgür Çallı
Day Breaker - Awakening Code · EA $6.99 7 100% 210 $1.5k (exactly $1,468) KhadijaDev

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