Games › Hack and Slash › Hack and Slash + Villain Protagonist
Should I ship a Villain-Led Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Villain Protagonist
Only 4 developers shipped a Villain-Led Hack and Slash game in the last 2 years. Over 4 years, 11 did: 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.. 10 more are announced, ×10.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
Only 1 developer shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $12k against a market of $630. 10 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $5.4k (exactly $5,382) |
|---|---|
| Median | $12k (exactly $12,081) |
| Top 25% | $55k (exactly $55,172) |
| Top 5% | $388k (exactly $388,391) |
| Developers, 4 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 27 |
| Announced | 10 |
| 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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 65% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, 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
- Villain Protagonist
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Hack and Slash
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 4 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 102,174 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $5.4k. 10 games are announced against 1 developer who shipped in the last year, ×10.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hack and Slash with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Turn-BasedStrong odds
- + Turn-Based CombatStrong odds
- + VampiresFair
- + ModernFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + RomancePoor odds
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + DestructionPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
Comparable games
Skul: The Hero Slayer 2021 · $30M 
Maneater 2021 · $26M 
Prototype 2 2012 · $12M 
STAR WARS™ - The Force Unleashed™ Ultimate Sith Edition 2009 · $5.2M 
Overlord™ 2007 · $750k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Skul: The Hero Slayer | older | $19.99 | 50,801 93% | 1.5M | $30M (exactly $30,465,360) | SOUTHPAW GAMES |
| | Maneater | older | $39.99 | 21,790 87% | 654k | $26M (exactly $26,141,463) | Tripwire Interactive |
| | Prototype 2 | older | $39.99 | 10,389 75% | 312k | $12M (exactly $12,463,683) | Radical Entertainment |
| | STAR WARS™ - The Force Unleashed™ Ultimate Sith Edition | older | $19.99 | 8,732 77% | 262k | $5.2M (exactly $5,236,580) | LucasArts |
| | Overlord™ | older | $4.99 | 5,007 94% | 150k | $750k (exactly $749,548) | Triumph Studios |
 | Overlord™: Raising Hell | older | $9.99 | 1,994 92% | 60k | $598k (exactly $597,602) | Triumph Studios |
 | Undead Horde | older | $16.99 | 1,107 86% | 33k | $564k (exactly $564,238) | 10tons Ltd |
 | OVERLORD: ESCAPE FROM NAZARICK | older | $29.99 | 505 65% | 15k | $454k (exactly $454,348) | ENGINES Inc. |
 | The Unliving | older | $16.99 | 762 62% | 23k | $388k (exactly $388,391) | RocketBrush Games |
 | Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain | older | $6.99 | 1,087 66% | 33k | $228k (exactly $227,944) | · |
 | Munch | $16.66 | 96 60% | 2.9k | $48k (exactly $47,981) | Mac n Cheese Games | |
 | Buccaneers Shipshape | $12.99 | 31 87% | 930 | $12k (exactly $12,081) | Merso Entertainment | |
 | Tome of the Damned | $7.99 | 20 60% | 600 | $4.8k (exactly $4,794) | Redtower Games | |
 | Struggler | $5.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $180 (exactly $180) | Bulanke |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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