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Should I ship a Vampire Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Vampires
Of 32 developers who shipped a Vampire 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.. 37 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.2k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $990. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 37 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $987 (exactly $987) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) |
| Top 25% | $23k (exactly $23,384) |
| Top 5% | $1.2M (exactly $1,234,455) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 88 |
| Announced | 37 |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Vampires
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hack and Slash; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 11,896 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $990. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Hack and Slash with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Turn-BasedStrong odds
- + Turn-Based CombatStrong odds
- + ModernFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + RomancePoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + DestructionPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
Comparable games
CODE VEIN 2019 · $83M 
Evil West 2022 · $15M 
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition 2013 · $7.2M 
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 2014 · $5.8M 
The Last Faith 2023 · $3.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | CODE VEIN | older | $59.99 | 46,315 83% | 1.4M | $83M (exactly $83,353,106) | Bandai Namco Studios |
| | Evil West | older | $49.99 | 10,215 74% | 306k | $15M (exactly $15,319,436) | Flying Wild Hog |
| | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition | older | $29.99 | 7,998 80% | 240k | $7.2M (exactly $7,195,801) | MercurySteam, Climax Studios |
| | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 | older | $39.99 | 4,874 84% | 146k | $5.8M (exactly $5,847,338) | MercurySteam |
| | The Last Faith | older | $27.99 | 4,661 83% | 140k | $3.9M (exactly $3,913,842) | Kumi Souls Games |
 | The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing | older | $14.99 | 7,720 83% | 232k | $3.5M (exactly $3,471,684) | NeocoreGames |
 | Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered | $29.99 | 3,042 90% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,736,887) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics | |
 | The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut | older | $44.99 | 1,959 76% | 59k | $2.6M (exactly $2,644,062) | NeocoreGames |
 | Nunholy | $7.99 | 5,150 88% | 155k | $1.2M (exactly $1,234,455) | Chowbie | |
 | Onechanbara Z2: Chaos | older | $39.99 | 907 79% | 27k | $1.1M (exactly $1,088,128) | Tamsoft |
 | Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered | $24.99 | 641 96% | 19k | $481k (exactly $480,558) | Crystal Dynamics, PlayEveryWare | |
 | Priest Simulator: Vampire Show | $19.99 | 735 94% | 22k | $441k (exactly $440,779) | Asmodev | |
 | Asgard's Fall — Viking Survivors | $9.99 | 1,301 79% | 39k | $390k (exactly $389,910) | Soulpotion | |
 | Menherarium: Deadly Dice | $8.99 | 669 92% | 20k | $180k (exactly $180,429) | テスカトリポカ | |
 | Hordes of Hunger | $14.99 | 230 72% | 6.9k | $103k (exactly $103,431) | Hyperstrange | |
 | Magissy | $14.99 | 52 46% | 1.6k | $23k (exactly $23,384) | Bit Fat Games | |
 | Deadhaus Sonata | · EA | $19.99 | 38 68% | 1.1k | $23k (exactly $22,789) | Apocalypse Studios |
 | Moroi | $14.99 | 38 63% | 1.1k | $17k (exactly $17,089) | Violet Saint |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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