Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Hack and Slash / Roguelike
Hack and Slash + Roguelike: a typical launch earns $1,870 in its first year
That is the median of 102 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 25 of 199 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 16.5 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 23% on the year before: 145 against 118.
- Price
- $1,870 median of 102 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −21.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 145 118 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 411 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 955 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. | 0.14%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.09% to 0.19% | 25 ranked of 411 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,397 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.44xhits against expected | 1.09x to 1.88x | 199 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #882 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −1%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −23% to +32% | 55 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,479 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −13%review growth against same-age games | −27% to +5% | 55 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,404 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
- 199
- Hit rate
- 12.1%7.3% to 22.7%
- Expected rate
- 8.3%
- Against expected
- 1.44x1.09x to 1.88x
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
198 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
- $20
- Median
- $1,821
- Top tenth
- $182,378
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
- +23%
- Against Steam
- −12%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Hack and SlashGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- RoguelikeGenre 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.
Hades II (opens the Steam store)2024 · 114,739 reviews, 95% positiveest. $66M
Rotwood (opens the Steam store)2024 · 7,462 reviews, 74% positiveest. $3.4M
Death Must Die (opens the Steam store)2023 · 20,960 reviews, 90% positiveest. $2.9M
SWORN (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,803 reviews, 80% positiveest. $2.3M
Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel (opens the Steam store)2025 · 7,345 reviews, 82% positiveest. $2M
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault (opens the Steam store)2025 · 3,323 reviews, 80% positiveest. $1.9M
Realm of Ink (opens the Steam store)2024 · 5,080 reviews, 90% positiveest. $1.6M
Tower of Babel: Survivors of Chaos (opens the Steam store)2025 · 6,298 reviews, 68% positiveest. $1.4M
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 + Action Roguelike$1,514157 launches priced, 227 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + Bullet Hell$1,41563 launches priced, 86 releases in 12 months
More with Roguelike
pairs with Roguelike- Roguelike + Bullet Heaven$17,70935 launches priced, 135 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Roguelike Deckbuilder$8,25299 launches priced, 221 releases in 12 months
- Turn-Based + Roguelike$4,45040 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Anime$4,38831 launches priced, 48 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Difficult$3,64173 launches priced, 93 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Auto Battler$3,39375 launches priced, 156 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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