Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Puzzle
Should I ship a Puzzle Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Puzzle
Of 41 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 116 more are announced, ×5.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $110; 1 in 20 cleared $1.6M, ×2588 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 116 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $105 (exactly $105) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) |
| Top 25% | $34k (exactly $34,059) |
| Top 5% | $1.6M (exactly $1,625,350) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 184 |
| Announced | 116 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hack and Slash, Puzzle; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Pixel Graphics, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 14,959 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $110. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 116 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hack and Slash with a different second tag, 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
STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order™ 2019 · $184M 
Darksiders III 2018 · $15M 
Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition 2015 · $15M 
Darksiders Genesis 2019 · $9.3M 
Darksiders Warmastered Edition 2016 · $8.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order™ | older | $39.99 | 153,782 88% | 4.6M | $184M (exactly $184,492,265) | Respawn Entertainment |
| | Darksiders III | older | $39.99 | 12,519 75% | 376k | $15M (exactly $15,019,044) | Gunfire Games |
| | Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition | older | $29.99 | 16,313 78% | 489k | $15M (exactly $14,676,806) | Gunfire Games, Vigil Games, THQ Nordic |
| | Darksiders Genesis | older | $29.99 | 10,379 82% | 311k | $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) | Airship Syndicate |
| | Darksiders Warmastered Edition | older | $19.99 | 13,942 88% | 418k | $8.4M (exactly $8,361,017) | KAIKO, Vigil Games |
 | Fate Seeker II | older | $22.60 | 11,360 88% | 341k | $7.7M (exactly $7,702,080) | JSL Entertainment |
 | The Killing Antidote | · EA | $29.99 | 7,512 88% | 225k | $6.8M (exactly $6,758,546) | MetalStar Studio |
 | Hob | older | $19.99 | 4,667 88% | 140k | $2.8M (exactly $2,798,800) | Runic Games |
 | Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered | $29.99 | 3,042 90% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,736,887) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics | |
 | Alabaster Dawn | · EA | $24.99 | 2,168 94% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,625,350) | Radical Fish Games |
 | Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered | $24.99 | 641 96% | 19k | $481k (exactly $480,558) | Crystal Dynamics, PlayEveryWare | |
 | Kvark | $19.99 | 461 86% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Latest Past, Perun Creative | |
 | Retrace the Light | $17.99 | 170 85% | 5.1k | $92k (exactly $91,749) | Xiaming Game | |
 | Tracery of Fate | $19.99 | 129 73% | 3.9k | $77k (exactly $77,361) | Sign Narva | |
 | DigDigDrill | $3.99 | 607 95% | 18k | $73k (exactly $72,658) | Toorai | |
 | Outrider Mako | $17.99 | 121 65% | 3.6k | $65k (exactly $65,304) | Asamado Games | |
 | GIGASWORD | $14.99 | 108 75% | 3.2k | $49k (exactly $48,568) | Studio Hybrid |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.