Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Psychological Horror
Of 29 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror 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.. 53 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $460k, ×734 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 53 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $718 (exactly $718) |
| Top 25% | $5.6k (exactly $5,605) |
| Top 5% | $461k (exactly $461,238) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 91 |
| Announced | 53 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 80% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Psychological Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hack and Slash; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Hidden Object
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 8,033 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 7 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hack and Slash with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Turn-BasedStrong odds
- + Turn-Based CombatStrong odds
- + VampiresFair
- + ModernFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + RomancePoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + DestructionPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
Comparable games
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me 2022 · $4.5M 
Attack on Titan / A.O.T. Wings of Freedom 2016 · $4.1M 
Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online 2018 · $3.5M 
Hellpoint 2020 · $2.7M 
Nunholy 2025 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me | older | $39.99 | 3,778 56% | 113k | $4.5M (exactly $4,532,467) | Supermassive Games |
| | Attack on Titan / A.O.T. Wings of Freedom | older | $39.99 | 3,419 84% | 103k | $4.1M (exactly $4,101,774) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online | older | $29.99 | 3,928 87% | 118k | $3.5M (exactly $3,534,022) | IDEA FACTORY, COMPILE HEART, TAMSOFT |
| | Hellpoint | older | $34.99 | 2,582 76% | 77k | $2.7M (exactly $2,710,325) | Cradle Games |
| | Nunholy | $7.99 | 5,150 88% | 155k | $1.2M (exactly $1,234,455) | Chowbie | |
 | 永远消失的幻想乡 ～ The Disappearing of Gensokyo | older | $10.99 | 3,023 83% | 91k | $997k (exactly $996,683) | MyACG Studio |
 | BELOW | older | $24.99 | 1,304 70% | 39k | $978k (exactly $977,609) | Capybara Games |
 | CUSTOM MECH WARS | older | $49.99 | 563 41% | 17k | $844k (exactly $844,331) | D3PUBLISHER |
 | LOST EPIC | older | $17.99 | 1,055 71% | 32k | $569k (exactly $569,384) | One or Eight, Team EARTHWARS |
 | Butcher's Creek | $9.99 | 1,539 94% | 46k | $461k (exactly $461,238) | David Szymanski | |
 | Menherarium: Deadly Dice | $8.99 | 669 92% | 20k | $180k (exactly $180,429) | テスカトリポカ | |
 | Bendy: Lone Wolf | $19.99 | 259 77% | 7.8k | $155k (exactly $155,322) | Joey Drew Studios | |
 | Burial | $4.99 | 161 73% | 4.8k | $24k (exactly $24,102) | REVVALUTION Studio | |
 | You Are Grounded | $4.99 | 120 84% | 3.6k | $18k (exactly $17,964) | Romooll, REVVALUTION Studio | |
 | IMPETUM | $4.99 | 87 60% | 2.6k | $13k (exactly $13,024) | TrueGames | |
 | Echoes From The Soul | $10.99 | 17 94% | 510 | $5.6k (exactly $5,605) | NG+Studios | |
 | GwenBlade: Halloween | $5.99 | 27 92% | 810 | $4.9k (exactly $4,852) | ArcWillow | |
 | Nekurogahara: Ronin Psyche | $39.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $4.8k (exactly $4,799) | n1lknarf |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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