Do I ship it?

GamesHack and SlashHack and Slash + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Time Management

Only 9 developers shipped a Time Management Hack and Slash game 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, SEDAP! A Culinary Adventure, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $3.6k against a market of $630. 12 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 12 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $125k → $199k → $3.6k
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $10,793)
Top 5% $232k (exactly $232,495)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 28
Announced 12
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 40% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 32%, 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
Time Management
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, Time Management
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 63% positive over 2,554 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 $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $230k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 12 games are announced against 4 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon older $59.99 294 75% 8.8k $529k (exactly $529,112) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
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
SEDAP! A Culinary Adventure $14.99 517 70% 16k $232k (exactly $232,495) kopiforge
Captain Blood $24.99 266 77% 8.0k $199k (exactly $199,420) Seawolf Studio, General Arcade
GUARDS! older $9.99 418 68% 13k $125k (exactly $125,275) WYLDERZONE, Lowkey GameDev
Tempest Tower $14.99 24 83% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) Half Past Yellow
Clockfall · EA $9.99 18 94% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Rever Games GmbH
CosmicBreak Gun & Slash older $19.99 7 14% 210 $4.2k (exactly $4,198) CyberStep, Inc.
Triumvora $9.99 12 100% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Bliss by Bits
Lesson Learned older $9.99 10 70% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) MadGamesmith
Demiurge Sacrifice $3.99 3 66% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Vampy Graveyard
Gradanix $9.99 1 100% 30 $300 (exactly $300) RevoltLive
XIaoXIaoQi $0.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) 草莓派
VR Blade of Blocks $0.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) 夜行者

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