Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Tower Defense

Of 49 developers who shipped a Tower Defense 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.. 79 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $410k, ×661 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 79 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 79 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 49
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.3k → $1.3k → $3.0k → $3.0k → $958 → $1.1k → $6.5k (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 49
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $6.6k (exactly $6,593)
Top 5% $415k (exactly $414,992)
Developers, 2 yr 49
Released games 125
Announced 79
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 down 45% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Tower Defense
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, Tower Defense; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Strategy, Base Building
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.88 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.88 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 6,103 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $6.5k, 1 in 20 over $410k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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

The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess 2024 · $2.3M DRAGON QUEST HEROES™ Slime Edition 2015 · $1.4M Deathtrap 2015 · $1.1M The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II 2014 · $879k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Riftbreaker older $29.99 22,127 90% 664k $20M (exactly $19,907,662) EXOR Studios
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess older $39.99 1,898 92% 57k $2.3M (exactly $2,277,031) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
DRAGON QUEST HEROES™ Slime Edition older $39.99 1,150 67% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,379,655) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Deathtrap older $19.99 1,858 84% 56k $1.1M (exactly $1,114,243) NeocoreGames
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II older $14.99 1,954 70% 59k $879k (exactly $878,714) NeocoreGames
Monsters are Coming! $8.99 2,718 79% 82k $733k (exactly $733,045) Ludogram
Human Host · EA $16.88 866 83% 26k $439k (exactly $438,542) Virtual Matrix Studio
Survival Machine $19.99 692 69% 21k $415k (exactly $414,992) Grape Pickers
Castle Craft $19.99 480 82% 14k $288k (exactly $287,856) Twin Earth
Dwerve older $19.99 426 70% 13k $255k (exactly $255,472) Half Human Games
Legacy of Defense $7.99 545 72% 16k $131k (exactly $130,636) Enter the Game Studios
Forest Heroes $9.99 278 83% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Hoochoo Game Studios
The Gate Must Stand $9.99 236 78% 7.1k $71k (exactly $70,729) Senmu Studio
Pull Stay $16.99 125 97% 3.8k $64k (exactly $63,712) Nito Souji
Kritter: Defend Together $9.99 109 86% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,667) LJF Games
MIGLORN $9.99 54 68% 1.6k $16k (exactly $16,184) WuzzyWizard

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