Do I ship it?

Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Traditional Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Traditional Roguelike Hack and Slash game?

Hack and Slash + Traditional Roguelike

Of 22 developers who shipped a Traditional Roguelike 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.. 24 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 15 developers shipped in the last year and 24 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 115% on the market, 24 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hack and Slash + Traditional Roguelike
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: $7.8k → $719 → $2.2k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hack and Slash + Traditional Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $4.9k (exactly $4,947)
Top 5% $142k (exactly $142,358)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 43
Announced 24
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 115% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Traditional Roguelike
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, Traditional Roguelike; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Action, Action Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Isometric, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 1,779 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 $360, 1 in 4 over $4.9k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die 2025 · $573k Fate Seeker: Journey 2022 · $332k Monster Girls and the Mysterious Adventure 2 2022 · $256k Dredgers 2019 · $169k Trials Survivors 2026 · EA · $142k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die $24.99 764 84% 23k $573k (exactly $572,771) Stormteller Games
Fate Seeker: Journey older $10.00 1,105 77% 33k $332k (exactly $331,500) JSL Entertainment
Monster Girls and the Mysterious Adventure 2 older $24.99 342 89% 10k $256k (exactly $256,397) NEKOTOKAGE GAMES
Dredgers older $11.99 471 88% 14k $169k (exactly $169,419) Pirate-Rob
Trials Survivors · EA $9.99 475 85% 14k $142k (exactly $142,358) Angry wisp
Reignbreaker $9.99 444 75% 13k $133k (exactly $133,067) Studio Fizbin
Hack, Slash, Loot older $5.99 309 57% 9.3k $56k (exactly $55,527) David Williamson
Zorbus older $4.99 364 90% 11k $54k (exactly $54,491) Zorbus
The Curse Of Yendor older $9.99 59 93% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,682) IBOLOGY LLC
Rangedrifter · EA $14.99 27 100% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) Max Schmidt
鸭鸭大冒险 (Duck Duck Adventure) $8.99 29 93% 870 $7.8k (exactly $7,821) 清友工作室
Cult of Shadows $14.99 11 72% 330 $4.9k (exactly $4,947) Squirrel Tail Games
Once upon a Dungeon - Infinity $7.99 9 88% 270 $2.2k (exactly $2,157) Koto Games
Hack & Schlitz $2.49 14 100% 420 $1.0k (exactly $1,046) RadGames
The Beast Is Yet To Come · EA $7.99 3 33% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Mileo.io
Shadowlight $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Unangwata

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