Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Hack and Slash / Character Customization
Hack and Slash + Character Customization: a typical launch earns $607 in its first year
That is the median of 32 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 6 of 61 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 6.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 8% on the year before: 42 against 39.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $607 median of 32 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −73.2% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 42 39 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 171 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 379 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. | 0.13%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.11% to 0.15% | 32 ranked of 171 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,448 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.97xhits against expected | 0.67x to 1.51x | 61 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,935 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | +25%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −11% to +73% | 25 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #619 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −2%review growth against same-age games | −11% to +8% | 25 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #889 of 2,461pairs on this board |
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
- 61
- Hit rate
- 9.8%6.4% to 23.9%
- Expected rate
- 10.2%
- Against expected
- 0.97x0.67x to 1.51x
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
61 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
- $1,010
- Top tenth
- $98,829
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
- +8%
- Against Steam
- −21%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Hack and SlashGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Character CustomizationNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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.
No Rest for the Wicked (opens the Steam store)2024 · 66,299 reviews, 80% positiveest. $47M
Dead as Disco (opens the Steam store)2026 · 12,604 reviews, 96% positiveest. $6.3M
Salt and Sacrifice (opens the Steam store)2023 · 1,746 reviews, 62% positiveest. $707k
Gori: Cuddly Carnage (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,442 reviews, 96% positiveest. $642k
Dungeons of Eternity (opens the Steam store)2025 · 919 reviews, 90% positiveest. $558k
Metal Bringer (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,119 reviews, 87% positiveest. $453k
Labyrinth of Touhou Tri -The Dreaming Girls & The Mysterious Orbs- (opens the Steam store)2026 · 618 reviews, 82% positiveest. $250k
Luminary (opens the Steam store)2026 · 350 reviews, 74% positiveest. $142k
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 Character Customization
pairs with Character Customization- Open World + Character Customization$4,55339 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
- Sandbox + Character Customization$4,44639 launches priced, 55 releases in 12 months
- Dungeon Crawler + Character Customization$3,45838 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
- Character Customization + Choices Matter$3,15735 launches priced, 42 releases in 12 months
- Choose Your Own Adventure + Character Customization$2,97334 launches priced, 26 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Character Customization$2,832132 launches priced, 170 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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