Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Physics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Physics Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Physics

Of 46 developers who shipped a Physics 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.. 122 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $230; 1 in 20 cleared $3.1M, ×5061 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 122 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 122 announced, ×5.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Physics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 46
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $20k → $5.4k → $1.3k → $22k → $2.7k → $1.7k → $419 (still earning) → $7.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Physics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $225 (exactly $225)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $28,293)
Top 5% $3.2M (exactly $3,178,318)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 163
Announced 122
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 flat on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Hack and Slash
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Physics
effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Hack and Slash, Physics; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, RPG
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 70,386 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $230, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $3.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $230. 8 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 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

Half Sword 2026 · EA · $21M Soulstone Survivors 2025 · $12M We Who Are About To Die 2022 · EA · $5.4M STAR WARS™ - The Force Unleashed™ Ultimate Sith Edition 2009 · $5.2M STAR WARS™: The Force Unleashed™ II 2010 · $3.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Half Sword · EA $24.99 28,656 71% 860k $21M (exactly $21,483,403) Half Sword Games
Soulstone Survivors $14.99 25,749 91% 772k $12M (exactly $11,579,325) Game Smithing Limited
We Who Are About To Die · EA older $21.99 8,134 88% 244k $5.4M (exactly $5,366,000) Jordy Lakiere
STAR WARS™ - The Force Unleashed™ Ultimate Sith Edition older $19.99 8,732 77% 262k $5.2M (exactly $5,236,580) LucasArts
STAR WARS™: The Force Unleashed™ II older $19.99 5,854 63% 176k $3.5M (exactly $3,510,644) Aspyr Studios
Fatekeeper · EA $9.99 10,605 80% 318k $3.2M (exactly $3,178,318) Paraglacial
Cloudheim · EA $29.99 1,819 81% 55k $1.6M (exactly $1,636,554) Noodle Cat Games
Grimlord $29.99 927 78% 28k $834k (exactly $834,022) Metalcat Interactive Co.,Ltd
Battle Talent older $19.99 1,194 77% 36k $716k (exactly $716,042) Cydream
Gladio Mori $15.99 1,147 82% 34k $550k (exactly $550,216) Plebeian Studio
Priest Simulator: Vampire Show $19.99 735 94% 22k $441k (exactly $440,779) Asmodev
Castle Craft $19.99 480 82% 14k $288k (exactly $287,856) Twin Earth
Pull Stay $16.99 125 97% 3.8k $64k (exactly $63,712) Nito Souji
CODE Bunny $9.99 143 93% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) Team Seventh Star

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