Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Hack and Slash / Arcade
Hack and Slash + Arcade: a typical launch earns $222 in its first year
That is the median of 62 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 5 of 129 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 4.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 35% on the year before: 101 against 75.
- Price
- $222 median of 62 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −61.5% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 101 75 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 223 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 648 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. | 0.11%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.06% to 0.17% | 16 ranked of 223 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,624 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.07xhits against expected | 0.73x to 1.74x | 129 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,369 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.
Launch success
launches 6 to 30 months oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 129
- Hit rate
- 3.9%1.5% to 7.6%
- Expected rate
- 3.5%
- Against expected
- 1.07x0.73x to 1.74x
Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.
Revenue spread
129 launchesEstimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.
- Bottom tenth
- $0
- Median
- $303
- Top tenth
- $21,727
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +35%
Parent tags
- Hack and SlashGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- ArcadeGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.
- Dead as Disco (opens the Steam store)2026 · 12,604 reviews, 96% positiveest. $6.3M
- Dwarven Realms (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,849 reviews, 81% positiveest. $576k
- KILL KNIGHT (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,816 reviews, 93% positiveest. $551k
- Wild Woods (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,760 reviews, 78% positiveest. $534k
- UFO ROBOT GRENDIZER – The Feast of the Wolves (opens the Steam store)2023 · 564 reviews, 84% positiveest. $457k
- First Cut: Samurai Duel (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,996 reviews, 88% positiveest. $363k
- Big Helmet Heroes (opens the Steam store)2025 · 684 reviews, 78% positiveest. $346k
- STAR WARS™: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles™ (opens the Steam store)2025 · 358 reviews, 78% positiveest. $145k
Related niches
pairs with Hack and Slash- Hack and Slash + Female Protagonist$10,32730 launches priced, 52 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + Dark Fantasy$3,96244 launches priced, 67 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + Dungeon Crawler$2,55377 launches priced, 131 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + Roguelite$1,870112 launches priced, 172 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + Roguelike$1,870102 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + Action Roguelike$1,514157 launches priced, 227 releases in 12 months
More with Arcade
pairs with Arcade- Co-op + Arcade$1,37646 launches priced, 69 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Twin Stick Shooter$1,01169 launches priced, 100 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Female Protagonist$96168 launches priced, 82 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Local Co-Op$96050 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Anime$91052 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
- Arcade + Difficult$80679 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
in developmentGMD Verdicts will be a written read on a niche, built from the same data and the published method on this site. Join the early list and we will email you when the first ones are ready. Nothing on this page is held back while you wait.