Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Thriller

Of 22 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 31 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.8k, ×6.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×404 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 31 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 31 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Thriller
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $11k → $300 → $4.0k → $300 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $3.8k (exactly $3,830)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $24,102)
Top 5% $254k (exactly $253,603)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 46
Announced 31
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 down 85% on the market, supply 55% fewer 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
Thriller
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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 Adventure, Action, RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Gore
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 9,846 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $3.8k, 1 in 4 over $24k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 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

The Killing Antidote 2024 · EA · $6.8M Evil School 2026 · $254k Bendy: Lone Wolf 2025 · $155k Dismantling Workshop of Bio-Girl 2025 · $108k Rabbit Hole 2022 · $63k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Killing Antidote · EA $29.99 7,512 88% 225k $6.8M (exactly $6,758,546) MetalStar Studio
Evil School $7.99 1,058 92% 32k $254k (exactly $253,603) CineGame Interactive
Bendy: Lone Wolf $19.99 259 77% 7.8k $155k (exactly $155,322) Joey Drew Studios
Dismantling Workshop of Bio-Girl $29.99 120 61% 3.6k $108k (exactly $107,964) 渡里laboratory
Rabbit Hole older $7.99 264 78% 7.9k $63k (exactly $63,281) Nikita Ustinov, Nikolay Lazarev
Sera's Adventure -Cave of Destruction- $18.99 76 53% 2.3k $43k (exactly $43,297) 渡里laboratory
Better Days $2.99 432 70% 13k $39k (exactly $38,750) 全自动花花
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
TOLD GOD - The legacy of cthulhu $17.99 21 76% 630 $11k (exactly $11,334) Obsession studio

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