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Should I ship a Zombie Hack and Slash game?
Hack and Slash + Zombies
Of 93 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 122 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $410k, ×661 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 122 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,485) |
| Top 25% | $9.2k (exactly $9,165) |
| Top 5% | $415k (exactly $414,992) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 93 |
| Released games | 267 |
| Announced | 122 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Zombies
- 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, RPG
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 15,529 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 45 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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
Dying Light 2015 · $280M 
Killing Floor 2 2016 · $78M 
Dead Island 2 2024 · $35M 
Prototype 2 2012 · $12M 
Prototype™ 2009 · $7.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dying Light | older | $24.99 | 373,413 95% | 11M | $280M (exactly $279,947,726) | Techland |
| | Killing Floor 2 | older | $29.99 | 87,158 88% | 2.6M | $78M (exactly $78,416,053) | Tripwire Interactive |
| | Dead Island 2 | older | $49.99 | 23,309 77% | 699k | $35M (exactly $34,956,507) | Dambuster Studios |
| | Prototype 2 | older | $39.99 | 10,389 75% | 312k | $12M (exactly $12,463,683) | Radical Entertainment |
| | Prototype™ | older | $19.99 | 12,518 80% | 376k | $7.5M (exactly $7,507,045) | Radical Entertainment |
 | The Killing Antidote | · EA | $29.99 | 7,512 88% | 225k | $6.8M (exactly $6,758,546) | MetalStar Studio |
 | How to Survive | older | $14.99 | 13,990 82% | 420k | $6.3M (exactly $6,291,303) | Eko Software |
 | Book of Demons | older | $24.99 | 8,010 91% | 240k | $6.0M (exactly $6,005,097) | Thing Trunk |
 | LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW RePOP | older | $44.99 | 2,657 88% | 80k | $3.6M (exactly $3,586,153) | DRAGAMI GAMES, LTD. |
 | ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN | $49.99 | 2,059 87% | 62k | $3.1M (exactly $3,087,882) | GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC. | |
 | GOD FORSAKEN | $13.99 | 1,728 67% | 52k | $725k (exactly $725,242) | insight studio | |
 | 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 | |
 | The Black Masses | $9.99 | 1,145 58% | 34k | $343k (exactly $343,156) | Brilliant Game Studios | |
 | Crimson Oath | $14.99 | 750 82% | 23k | $337k (exactly $337,275) | Parry Frames Team | |
 | Dark Light: Survivor | · EA | $16.99 | 346 75% | 10k | $176k (exactly $176,356) | Mirari&Co. |
 | Soulforge Lost Path | $8.99 | 302 69% | 9.1k | $81k (exactly $81,449) | Ziyue | |
 | Tracery of Fate | $19.99 | 129 73% | 3.9k | $77k (exactly $77,361) | Sign Narva |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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