Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Noir

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Noir Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Noir

Only 13 developers shipped a Noir 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, Crimson Oath, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 34 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×537 the market median. Revenue is up 42930% on the market; 34 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 42930% on the market, 34 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Noir
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $8.1k → $30 → $119k → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Noir: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $598 (exactly $598)
Top 25% $8.1k (exactly $8,092)
Top 5% $337k (exactly $337,275)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 40
Announced 34
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 42930% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Noir
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
Price point
$8.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 9 games average 81% positive over 1,527 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $600, 1 in 4 over $8.0k, 1 in 20 over $330k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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

Katana ZERO 2019 · $30M Alice: Madness Returns 2011 · $8.3M Crimson Oath 2026 · $337k HOTEL BARCELONA 2025 · $242k Kats Trigger 2025 · EA · $119k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Katana ZERO older $14.99 66,341 97% 2.0M $30M (exactly $29,833,548) Askiisoft
Alice: Madness Returns older $9.99 27,795 90% 834k $8.3M (exactly $8,330,162) Spicy Horse Games
Crimson Oath $14.99 750 82% 23k $337k (exactly $337,275) Parry Frames Team
HOTEL BARCELONA $29.99 269 71% 8.1k $242k (exactly $242,019) White Owls Inc.
Kats Trigger · EA $8.99 440 88% 13k $119k (exactly $118,668) GIX
NINJA SLAYER NEO-SAITAMA IN FLAMES(ニンジャスレイヤー ネオサイタマ炎上) older $19.99 162 39% 4.9k $97k (exactly $97,151) Skeleton Crew Studio
Vengeance of Mr. Peppermint older $19.99 101 70% 3.0k $61k (exactly $60,570) Hack The Publisher
I See Red older $9.99 106 90% 3.2k $32k (exactly $31,768) Whiteboard Games
Reloader: test_subject older $0.99 295 92% 8.9k $8.8k (exactly $8,762) Nevertheless Studio
Hellwatch $9.99 27 44% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) FG
血姬：双生 (Vampiress: Eternal Duet) $9.99 24 58% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) 织界者 (Realm Weaver Studio)
Downward Spear · EA $14.99 10 100% 300 $4.5k (exactly $4,497) imakegame software
The World Ends in Ohio $3.99 5 80% 150 $598 (exactly $598) PDS Games
DinD $9.99 1 100% 30 $300 (exactly $300) H..A.
Monochrome Nemesis $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) BidouGameStudio
Mystic Origins $7.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Matthew Lalande

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