Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Supernatural

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Supernatural Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Supernatural

Of 36 developers who shipped a Supernatural 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.. 78 more are announced, ×5.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $150 in the last 2 years and $400 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 14 developers shipped in the last year and 78 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 78 announced, ×5.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Supernatural
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $896 → $210 → $2.3k → $418 → $0 → $0 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Supernatural: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $2.3k (exactly $2,338)
Top 5% $59k (exactly $59,178)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 92
Announced 78
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Supernatural
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Action Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 984 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $150, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $59k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.6 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

Alice: Madness Returns 2011 · $8.3M Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess 2024 · $2.3M BloodRayne: Terminal Cut 2020 · $716k They Bleed Pixels 2012 · $611k The Darkest Tales 2022 · $418k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Alice: Madness Returns older $9.99 27,795 90% 834k $8.3M (exactly $8,330,162) Spicy Horse Games
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess older $39.99 1,898 92% 57k $2.3M (exactly $2,277,031) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
BloodRayne: Terminal Cut older $14.99 1,593 90% 48k $716k (exactly $716,372) Terminal Reality
They Bleed Pixels older $9.99 2,040 84% 61k $611k (exactly $611,388) Spooky Squid Games Inc.
The Darkest Tales older $19.99 697 69% 21k $418k (exactly $417,991) Trinity Team
Yaga older $24.99 550 81% 17k $412k (exactly $412,335) Breadcrumbs Interactive
Devil's Hunt older $14.99 583 43% 17k $262k (exactly $262,175) Layopi Games
Arietta of Spirits older $14.99 521 85% 16k $234k (exactly $234,294) Third Spirit Games
Rogue Loops $14.99 259 71% 7.8k $116k (exactly $116,472) Fubu Games
An Ankou · EA older $4.99 604 67% 18k $90k (exactly $90,419) Alkemi
I will purify you $13.99 141 78% 4.2k $59k (exactly $59,178) Cheese Burger Studio
SONOKUNI $14.99 109 98% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) DON YASA CREW
Nullpoint Protocol $14.99 62 61% 1.9k $28k (exactly $27,881) Everbloom Games
Burial $4.99 161 73% 4.8k $24k (exactly $24,102) REVVALUTION Studio
You Are Grounded $4.99 120 84% 3.6k $18k (exactly $17,964) Romooll, REVVALUTION Studio
IMPETUM $4.99 87 60% 2.6k $13k (exactly $13,024) TrueGames
Soul Demon Hunters $11.99 17 88% 510 $6.1k (exactly $6,115) Cheese Burger Studio
Jaded $4.99 22 90% 660 $3.3k (exactly $3,293) ShellSnore Games
Lustful Apocalypse · EA $12.99 6 16% 180 $2.3k (exactly $2,338) Demon Alter Studios

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