Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Robots

Of 44 developers who shipped a Robot 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.. 85 more are announced, ×3.7 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 $60; 1 in 20 cleared $910k, ×1458 the market median. Revenue is up 475% on the market; 85 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 475% on the market, 85 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 44
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.1k → $9.0k → $3.3k → $299 → $1.1k → $2.4k → $629 (still earning) → $4.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 44
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $28,472)
Top 5% $915k (exactly $915,384)
Developers, 2 yr 44
Released games 158
Announced 85
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 up 475% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Robots
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Action Roguelike
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Third Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 14,610 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $910k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 7 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 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

NieR:Automata™ 2017 · $138M Hi-Fi RUSH 2023 · $25M DAEMON X MACHINA 2020 · $9.3M SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE 2022 · $8.8M The Surge 2 2019 · $6.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
NieR:Automata™ older $39.99 115,103 88% 3.5M $138M (exactly $138,089,069) Square Enix, PlatinumGames Inc.
Hi-Fi RUSH older $29.99 27,454 97% 824k $25M (exactly $24,700,364) Tango Gameworks
DAEMON X MACHINA older $49.99 6,172 85% 185k $9.3M (exactly $9,256,148) Marvelous Inc.
SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE older $59.99 4,892 62% 147k $8.8M (exactly $8,804,132) ARTDINK
The Surge 2 older $29.99 7,477 75% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,727,057) Deck13
Vanquish older $19.99 6,974 89% 209k $4.2M (exactly $4,182,308) PlatinumGames, Little Stone Software
The Surge older $14.99 9,161 75% 275k $4.1M (exactly $4,119,702) Deck13
ENSLAVED™: Odyssey to the West™ Premium Edition older $19.99 5,789 86% 174k $3.5M (exactly $3,471,663) Ninja Theory
MOTORSLICE $19.99 5,467 85% 164k $3.3M (exactly $3,278,560) Regular Studio
M.A.S.S. Builder $24.99 3,729 85% 112k $2.8M (exactly $2,795,631) Vermillion Digital
KIBORG $24.99 1,221 84% 37k $915k (exactly $915,384) Sobaka Studio
Meta Ghost: Breaking Show $17.99 1,497 72% 45k $808k (exactly $807,931) Scarecrow Studio
Metal Bringer $19.99 1,109 87% 33k $665k (exactly $665,067) ALPHAWING Inc.
Clone Drone in the Hyperdome $19.99 1,048 91% 31k $628k (exactly $628,486) Doborog Games
Bounty Star $24.99 159 65% 4.8k $119k (exactly $119,202) DINOGOD
Dismantling Workshop of Bio-Girl $29.99 120 61% 3.6k $108k (exactly $107,964) 渡里laboratory
PROJECT TACHYON $17.99 117 83% 3.5k $63k (exactly $63,145) STUDIO N9
CODE Bunny $9.99 143 93% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) Team Seventh Star

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