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Should I ship a Strategy RPG Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Strategy RPG
Of 36 developers who shipped a Strategy RPG 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×554 the market median. Revenue is up 2060% on the market; 58 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $270 (exactly $270) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $10,795) |
| Top 5% | $348k (exactly $347,652) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 133 |
| Announced | 58 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 2060% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, 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
- Strategy RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hack and Slash, Strategy RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Loot, Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 3,608 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. All of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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
鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal 2023 · $114M 
SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M 
The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M 
Kingdom Heroes 8 2021 · $12M 
Swords and Sandals Classic Collection 2019 · $871k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal | older | $19.99 | 190,184 56% | 5.7M | $114M (exactly $114,053,345) | 鬼谷工作室 |
| | SCARLET NEXUS | older | $59.99 | 13,749 81% | 412k | $25M (exactly $24,744,075) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. |
| | 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. |
| | Swords and Sandals Classic Collection | older | $9.99 | 2,905 92% | 87k | $871k (exactly $870,628) | Whiskeybarrel Studios |
 | Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders | older | $19.99 | 1,045 91% | 31k | $627k (exactly $626,686) | Blueside |
 | Huaxia: Warring States | · EA | $19.99 | 701 61% | 21k | $420k (exactly $420,390) | 秦川汉渚 |
 | 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 | |
 | EdgeOfTheAbyssAwaken | older | $18.99 | 542 67% | 16k | $309k (exactly $308,777) | TrinityBJ |
 | Bones and Coins | $7.99 | 638 72% | 19k | $153k (exactly $152,929) | Troyd Games | |
 | DreamEcho | $11.99 | 369 79% | 11k | $133k (exactly $132,729) | HotWaterStudio | |
 | Cultivation Magic World | · EA | $12.99 | 276 78% | 8.3k | $108k (exactly $107,557) | DMG Studio |
 | Legends of Wasteland | $6.99 | 320 62% | 9.6k | $67k (exactly $67,104) | 清友工作室 | |
 | 神魔山海经 Gods Monster | $11.99 | 57 59% | 1.7k | $21k (exactly $20,503) | 红尘背包客 | |
 | Dreadful River | $9.99 | 58 72% | 1.7k | $17k (exactly $17,383) | SureAI | |
 | School of Magic: Deck & Slash | · EA | $19.99 | 18 66% | 540 | $11k (exactly $10,795) | PartTimeIndie |
 | A Wild Last Boss Appeared! ~Black-Winged Survivor~ | $23.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $7.9k (exactly $7,917) | 株式会社ロケットスタジオ |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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