Hack and slash
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 4 platforms: niche 45/100, demand 55/100, competition 57/100, development cost 49/100. On Steam: 3,227 games and 174,671 players online; 23% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $19.74.
Niche
45/100
Demand (0–100)
55/100
Competition
57/100
Dev cost
49/100
Spend per player
$19.74
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
23%
Key findings
- Ranked #65 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on itch.io (56/100) and weakest on App Store (38/100).
- Competition is at a typical level: 57/100 vs a median of 57/100.
- Development is costlier than typical: index 49/100 vs a median of 39/100 — plan for more time and money.
- On Steam, 23% of games reached 500+ reviews — more often than usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 50% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 67/100 | 3,227 | 64/100 | 46/100 | 54/100 |
| itch.io | 71/100 | 3,299 | 56/100 | 56/100 | 48/100 |
| Yandex Games | no data | ||||
| Google Play | 62/100 | 82% | 73/100 | 41/100 | 45/100 |
| App Store | 22/100 | 45% | 34/100 | 38/100 | 49/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Lost ArkSmilegate RPG · free
Path of Exile 2Grinding Gear Games · $29.99
Last EpochEleventh Hour Games · $34.99
Indie
Path of ExileGrinding Gear Games · free
Grim DawnCrate Entertainment · $24.99
HadesSupergiant Games · $24.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology