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Should I ship a Hack and Slash RTS?
RTS + Hack and Slash
Only 18 developers shipped a Hack and Slash RTS 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, Forest Heroes, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300. 25 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper, while revenue is down 65% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $5.3k (exactly $5,277) |
| Top 5% | $83k (exactly $83,317) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 75 |
| Announced | 25 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 65% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 24%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- RTS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Hack and Slash
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RTS, Hack and Slash; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Base Building
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 657 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RTS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + HorrorFair
- + NavalFair
- + TabletopFair
- + SportsLong shot
- + PuzzleLong shot
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M 
Kingdom Heroes 8 2021 · $12M 
Brutal Legend 2013 · $5.1M 
Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2 2023 · $4.3M 
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess 2024 · $2.3M | 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 |
| | Kingdom Heroes 8 | older | $29.99 | 12,793 55% | 384k | $12M (exactly $11,509,862) | USERJOY Technology Co.,Ltd. |
| | Brutal Legend | older | $14.99 | 11,365 94% | 341k | $5.1M (exactly $5,110,840) | Double Fine Productions |
| | Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2 | older | $19.99 | 7,206 84% | 216k | $4.3M (exactly $4,321,438) | Brilliant Game Studios |
| | Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess | older | $39.99 | 1,898 92% | 57k | $2.3M (exactly $2,277,031) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | Grand Ages: Medieval | older | $19.99 | 1,565 47% | 47k | $939k (exactly $938,530) | Gaming Minds Studios |
 | Overlord™ | older | $4.99 | 5,007 94% | 150k | $750k (exactly $749,548) | Triumph Studios |
 | Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders | older | $19.99 | 1,045 91% | 31k | $627k (exactly $626,686) | Blueside |
 | Overlord™: Raising Hell | older | $9.99 | 1,994 92% | 60k | $598k (exactly $597,602) | Triumph Studios |
 | Han Xiongnu Wars | older | $6.99 | 2,200 67% | 66k | $461k (exactly $461,340) | Shangshi Studio |
 | Forest Heroes | $9.99 | 278 83% | 8.3k | $83k (exactly $83,317) | Hoochoo Game Studios | |
 | The Gate Must Stand | $9.99 | 236 78% | 7.1k | $71k (exactly $70,729) | Senmu Studio | |
 | MIGLORN | $9.99 | 54 68% | 1.6k | $16k (exactly $16,184) | WuzzyWizard | |
 | Pass Tiger Cage | · EA | $6.99 | 34 61% | 1.0k | $7.1k (exactly $7,130) | 中军MT |
 | Just Move:Clean City Messy Battle | $15.99 | 11 45% | 330 | $5.3k (exactly $5,277) | daminggede | |
 | Just Move Fall Dungeon Endless Abyss | $15.99 | 8 50% | 240 | $3.8k (exactly $3,838) | daminggede | |
 | Skel Dungeon: Heroes Must Die! | $8.99 | 11 54% | 330 | $3.0k (exactly $2,967) | Buff Studio | |
 | Ant Guardians | · EA | $3.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $2.2k (exactly $2,155) | NotThisTime |
 | Paddle Protectors | $5.99 | 5 60% | 150 | $898 (exactly $898) | Huhi Games | |
 | Fortress Frenzy | · EA | $9.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | Mythforge Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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