Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Tactical RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tactical RPG Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Tactical RPG

Of 30 developers who shipped a Tactical 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.. 48 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×7.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $850k, ×1360 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 48 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 48 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Tactical RPG
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: $3.2k → $210 → $150 → $16k → $2.5k → $1.7k → $13k (still earning) → $2.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Tactical RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Median $4.5k (exactly $4,497)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $27,531)
Top 5% $854k (exactly $854,145)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 112
Announced 48
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 140% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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
Tactical RPG
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, Tactical RPG; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action RPG, RPG, Action
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 8,011 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.7k, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $850k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 7 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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

鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal 2023 · $114M Kingdom Heroes 8 2021 · $12M PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY 2025 · $1.9M The Dwarves 2016 · $1.4M Dwarven Realms 2024 · $854k
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
Kingdom Heroes 8 older $29.99 12,793 55% 384k $12M (exactly $11,509,862) USERJOY Technology Co.,Ltd.
PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY $29.99 2,091 83% 63k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,273) SAS CO.,LTD.
The Dwarves older $39.99 1,189 74% 36k $1.4M (exactly $1,426,443) KING Art
Dwarven Realms $9.99 2,850 81% 86k $854k (exactly $854,145) Crater 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
Labyrinth of Touhou Tri -The Dreaming Girls & The Mysterious Orbs- $19.99 616 82% 18k $369k (exactly $369,415) Nise-Eikoku Studio
Netherworld Covenant $19.99 597 78% 18k $358k (exactly $358,021) MadGoat Game Studio
FAIRY TAIL 2 $59.99 162 61% 4.9k $292k (exactly $291,551) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Bioweaver $6.99 668 77% 20k $140k (exactly $140,080) Emprom Game, Wild Kid Games
Heroine Conquest $3.99 230 71% 6.9k $28k (exactly $27,531) BadColor
Rise of a Legend · EA $17.99 49 77% 1.5k $26k (exactly $26,445) Masquarade, Nicholas St. Germain
戦国英雄譚-Samurai Heroes- $9.99 47 89% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,086) hizaniya games

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