Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Perma Death

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Perma Death Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Perma Death

Of 81 developers who shipped a Perma Death 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.. 148 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×4.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×570 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 148 games are announced against 55 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 148 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Perma Death
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 81
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $2.7k → $6.3k → $1.0k → $2.3k → $3.8k → $2.2k (still earning) → $7.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Perma Death: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 81
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,992)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $27,881)
Top 5% $358k (exactly $358,021)
Developers, 2 yr 81
Released games 241
Announced 148
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 10% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Perma Death
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, Perma Death; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action Roguelike, Action, Roguelike
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Difficult
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 125,535 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $350k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 148 games are announced against 55 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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

Hades 2020 · $214M Hades II 2025 · $103M Astral Ascent 2023 · $4.1M NECROPOLIS: BRUTAL EDITION 2016 · $3.3M SWORN 2025 · $2.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hades older $24.99 285,748 97% 8.6M $214M (exactly $214,225,276) Supergiant Games
Hades II $29.99 114,419 95% 3.4M $103M (exactly $102,942,774) Supergiant Games
Astral Ascent older $24.99 5,408 94% 162k $4.1M (exactly $4,054,378) Hibernian Workshop
NECROPOLIS: BRUTAL EDITION older $29.99 3,696 63% 111k $3.3M (exactly $3,325,291) Harebrained Schemes
SWORN $24.99 3,779 80% 113k $2.8M (exactly $2,833,116) Windwalk Games
Hell Clock $19.99 3,535 82% 106k $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) Rogue Snail
ELDERBORN older $14.99 2,229 87% 67k $1.0M (exactly $1,002,381) Hyperstrange
Tower Hunter: Erza's Trial older $17.99 1,852 70% 56k $1.0M (exactly $999,524) IceSitruuna
BELOW older $24.99 1,304 70% 39k $978k (exactly $977,609) Capybara Games
Oblivion Override older $17.99 1,692 90% 51k $913k (exactly $913,172) Humble Mill
LET IT DIE: INFERNO $24.99 774 52% 23k $580k (exactly $580,268) SUPERTRICK GAMES, Inc.
Netherworld Covenant $19.99 597 78% 18k $358k (exactly $358,021) MadGoat Game Studio
Ascend to ZERO $11.99 867 82% 26k $312k (exactly $311,860) Flyway Games, Inc.
9th Dawn Remake $15.99 514 86% 15k $247k (exactly $246,566) Valorware
Shadow of the Depth $14.99 448 69% 13k $201k (exactly $201,466) ChillyRoom
Bendy: Lone Wolf $19.99 259 77% 7.8k $155k (exactly $155,322) Joey Drew Studios
硬币与仙人掌 (Coins & Wishpalm) $13.99 343 77% 10k $144k (exactly $143,957) Moshow Games

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