Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Resource Management Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Resource Management

Of 30 developers who shipped a Resource Management 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.. 69 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.6k, ×10 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $730k, ×1167 the market median. Revenue is up 110% on the market; 69 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 110% on the market, 69 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.8k → $899 → $1.5k → $3.6k → $67k (still earning) → $32k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $600 (exactly $600)
Median $6.6k (exactly $6,593)
Top 25% $73k (exactly $72,658)
Top 5% $733k (exactly $733,045)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 72
Announced 69
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.90

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 110% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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
Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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, Resource Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Loot
Price point
$9.90 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.90.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 8,626 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $6.6k, 1 in 4 over $72k, 1 in 20 over $730k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 6 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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

The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M Grand Ages: Medieval 2015 · $939k Wild Woods 2024 · EA · $785k Monsters are Coming! 2025 · $733k Regions Of Ruin 2018 · $709k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Riftbreaker older $29.99 22,127 90% 664k $20M (exactly $19,907,662) EXOR Studios
Grand Ages: Medieval older $19.99 1,565 47% 47k $939k (exactly $938,530) Gaming Minds Studios
Wild Woods · EA $14.99 1,746 78% 52k $785k (exactly $785,176) Octofox Games
Monsters are Coming! $8.99 2,718 79% 82k $733k (exactly $733,045) Ludogram
Regions Of Ruin older $11.99 1,972 84% 59k $709k (exactly $709,328) Gameclaw Studio
Survival Machine $19.99 692 69% 21k $415k (exactly $414,992) Grape Pickers
道衍诀 · EA older $11.99 988 49% 30k $355k (exactly $355,384) 宁德动游网络科技有限公司
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising $9.99 1,160 77% 35k $348k (exactly $347,652) Small Mill, Small Mill
Regions of Ruin: Runegate $19.99 389 84% 12k $233k (exactly $233,283) Gameclaw Studio
Bones and Coins $7.99 638 72% 19k $153k (exactly $152,929) Troyd Games
Dismantling Workshop of Bio-Girl $29.99 120 61% 3.6k $108k (exactly $107,964) 渡里laboratory
DigDigDrill $3.99 607 95% 18k $73k (exactly $72,658) Toorai
The Gate Must Stand $9.99 236 78% 7.1k $71k (exactly $70,729) Senmu Studio
Legends of Wasteland $6.99 320 62% 9.6k $67k (exactly $67,104) 清友工作室

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