Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Pirates

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Pirate Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Pirates

Only 11 developers shipped a Pirate 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, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 18 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $2.2k against a market of $630. 18 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 18 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Pirates
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $4.8k → $5.1k → $199k → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Pirates: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,248)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $14,564)
Top 5% $12M (exactly $11,849,225)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 41
Announced 18
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 down 100% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Pirates
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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 8 games average 88% positive over 6,960 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $11M.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 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

ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4 2023 · $21M One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 2015 · $13M Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii 2025 · $12M One Piece: Unlimited World Red - Deluxe Edition 2017 · $539k King of Seas 2021 · $452k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS 4 older $39.99 17,281 91% 518k $21M (exactly $20,732,016) Koei Tecmo
One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 older $51.98 8,458 79% 254k $13M (exactly $13,189,405) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii $59.99 6,584 88% 198k $12M (exactly $11,849,225) RGG Studio
One Piece: Unlimited World Red - Deluxe Edition older $39.99 449 74% 13k $539k (exactly $538,665) Ganbarion
King of Seas older $24.99 603 57% 18k $452k (exactly $452,069) 3DClouds
Captain Blood $24.99 266 77% 8.0k $199k (exactly $199,420) Seawolf Studio, General Arcade
Rum & Gun older $4.99 390 92% 12k $58k (exactly $58,383) Borington
Curse of the Sea Rats older $9.99 104 56% 3.1k $31k (exactly $31,169) Petoons Studio
Angvik 2 older $5.00 177 94% 5.3k $27k (exactly $26,550) Alastair John Jack
Mystical Maritime Adventure $8.99 54 77% 1.6k $15k (exactly $14,564) Ze_Yu, 烟熏渔
Buccaneers Shipshape $12.99 31 87% 930 $12k (exactly $12,081) Merso Entertainment
Boomerang Jack $14.99 14 100% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) Recall Interactive
Pixel Pirates · EA $14.99 5 80% 150 $2.2k (exactly $2,248) Flickin Fun
Haloo $2.99 5 100% 150 $449 (exactly $449) Ellelel
SkullPirates $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Arcade Distillery
Kaptan Ege $0.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Crash Entertainment
ESPCOACOD · EA $0.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Zander Ragsdale, Brady Lang, LunarWinds… (Zander Ragsdale, Brady Lang, LunarWinds Studios)

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