Hades
26 documents in the library are about Hades, from writers such as Game Developers Conference, GameDiscoverCo and Alinea Analytics, the newest from 2026. Each has a summary and key insights with the page they come from.
A rogue-lite hack and slash dungeon crawler in which Zagreus, son of Hades the Greek god of the dead, attempts to escape his home and his oppressive father by fighting the souls of the dead through the various layers of the ever-shifting underworld, while getting to know and forging relationships with its inhabitants.
- Released
- Sep 17, 2020
- Developer
- Supergiant Games
- Publisher
- Netflix
- Genres
- Role-playing (RPG), Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Adventure, Indie
- Platforms
- Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Links
- Official site, Wikipedia
Game data from IGDB.com
Key figures
Slay the Spire 2's Steam revenue has surpassed the lifetime Steam earnings of Hades II ($82 million) and Hollow Knight: Silksong ($83 million).
Game World Observer, 2026 · Slay the Spire 2 Surpasses Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades II in Revenue on Steam
Hades sold over 150,000 copies on Steam last week following a 75% price reduction, bringing its total lifetime sales on the platform to over 9 million units.
Alinea Analytics, 2025 · Dying Light The Beast, Hades, and Steam Trends
Documents about Hades
GDC Concert 2026: Expedition 33, Hades II, DOOM (2016), and more; feat. Austin Wintory & Troy Baker
The 2026 GDC Developer’s Concert serves as a comprehensive celebration of the evolution of video game music, tracing its trajectory from technically constrained early compositions to the sophisticated, emotionally resonant orchestral scores defining modern titles.
- The GDC Developers Concert, held during the March 2026 festival, featured live orchestral performances of scores from titles including Hades II, Rift of the Necrodancer, ABZU, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
- Composer Austin Wintory and voice actor Troy Baker co-hosted the event, emphasizing the importance of integrating voice acting and musical composition early in the game development process.
- The concert served as a platform to highlight emerging talent, specifically showcasing first-time commercial releases from composers alongside established industry veterans.
Slay the Spire 2 Surpasses Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades II in Revenue on Steam
Slay the Spire 2 has achieved significant commercial success on Steam, grossing over $92 million within its first 14 days of release.
- Within 14 days of its Steam launch, Slay the Spire 2 generated over $92 million in revenue from 4.6 million copies sold.
- Slay the Spire 2's Steam revenue has surpassed the lifetime Steam earnings of Hades II ($82 million) and Hollow Knight: Silksong ($83 million).
- The game achieved a 31% wishlist-to-sales conversion rate during its debut week, significantly outperforming the industry average of 7-10%.
Slay the Spire 2: Steam Launch Performance Analysis
Slay the Spire 2 has achieved one of the most successful indie launches in Steam history, signaling a robust start for the roguelike genre in 2026.
- Slay the Spire 2 generated over $92 million in revenue from 4.6 million copies sold on Steam within its first two weeks of early access.
- The game achieved a 34% wishlist-to-buyer conversion rate within two weeks of launch, significantly outperforming the industry-standard 7–10% benchmark.
- Chinese players are a critical market, accounting for over one-third of the game's total Steam audience.
GMTK Digest: December 2025
The December 2025 industry digest serves as a year-end retrospective, focusing on the critical reception of major game releases as highlighted by the 2025 Game Awards.
- Nintendo utilized specific design methodologies for the 2025 release of Donkey Kong Bananza, serving as a primary case study for industry production philosophies.
- Team Cherry’s development process for Hollow Knight Silksong is highlighted as a key reference point for understanding the year's most acclaimed game production cycles.
- Doom: The Dark Ages set a new industry benchmark for the implementation and advancement of accessibility features in high-budget titles.
VGIM Game of the Year 2025
The 2025 gaming landscape is defined by a remarkable breadth of quality, characterized by a successful synthesis of innovative mechanics, deep narrative structures, and genre-defying gameplay.
- The 2025 gaming market is characterized by a high-quality output across both AAA and indie sectors, with notable titles including Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Death Stranding 2.
- The Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour represents the primary hardware development of 2025, balancing new technological capabilities with the continued market strength of established franchises like Mario Kart World.
- Indie developers are successfully challenging traditional design conventions through experimental titles such as Blue Prince and Promise Mascot Agency.
GMTK Digest: November 2025
The November 2025 industry digest serves as a curated overview of significant developments, critical discourse, and labor issues within the global video game sector.
- Rockstar Games faces accusations of union busting following the termination of staff prior to the completion of Grand Theft Auto 6, despite the company citing gross misconduct as the cause.
- The release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has become a focal point for industry-wide criticism regarding the integration of artificial intelligence in major titles.
- Analysts suggest a shift in player expectations for major releases, noting that Hades 2 prioritizes repetitive maintenance over meaningful thematic narrative development.
The Game Awards Nominees by Copies Sold
The 2025 Game of the Year nominees represent a significant commercial milestone for the industry, with collective sales exceeding 20 million units across major platforms.
- The Game Awards nominees have collectively sold over 20 million copies across Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.
- Hollow Knight: Silksong leads the nominee sales with 5.5 million copies sold and approximately $100 million in revenue, while also reaching 2 million players via Game Pass.
- Expedition 33 has sold 5.3 million copies, demonstrating strong market demand for JRPGs despite industry skepticism, supported by 3 million Game Pass users.
Flying to Paris to Dance With Pikachu, and Writing for New York Times Again
This industry update provides a curated overview of significant developments in the gaming sector as of late September 2025.
- A consortium including Saudi Arabia and Jared Kushner has acquired Electronic Arts in a transaction valued at $55 billion.
- Hades 2 has officially transitioned out of its early access phase as of late September 2025.
- Hollow Knight: Silksong continues to face significant development challenges following recent updates.
Dying Light The Beast, Hades, and Steam Trends
The gaming industry continues to see robust performance from both established franchises and independent titles on Steam, as evidenced by recent sales data from September 2025.
- Dying Light: The Beast sold over 1 million copies on Steam in its first week of release, with 82% of its Steam player base having previously played the original Dying Light.
- Palworld has reached a milestone of 25 million copies sold and is expanding its franchise with a new farming simulation title, Palworld: Palfarm.
- Hades sold over 150,000 copies on Steam last week following a 75% price reduction, bringing its total lifetime sales on the platform to over 9 million units.
Pokemon's Patent Problem, Virtual Boy Returns, and Borderlands 4's PC Launch | Games For Breakfast
The contemporary gaming landscape is currently defined by a tension between legacy preservation, aggressive monetization, and the disruptive influence of emerging technologies.
- Nintendo is facing backlash for aggressive monetization strategies in the Pokémon franchise, specifically the use of subscription-gated content and time-limited competitive seasons.
- Nintendo has secured a broad U.S. patent for core summoning mechanics, raising industry concerns that the company may use the filing to stifle independent developers through litigation.
- The PC launch of Borderlands 4 suffered from significant technical instability, serving as a prominent example of the risks associated with releasing underbaked software.
Watch THIS If You Want To Make Games (And FINISH Them!)
Successful independent game development requires a shift away from the common industry tendency to pursue high-risk, multi-year projects without market validation.
- Treat game development as a traditional business by scaling from small, proven concepts rather than pursuing high-risk, multi-year projects without market validation.
- Prioritize rapid prototyping and iterative testing to identify market potential before committing to full-scale production.
- Avoid over-investing in projects by ensuring a concept is validated and has a clear path to completion before beginning development.
Souls‑likes: From Niche to Mainstay
The analysis charts the evolution of the souls-like subgenre from a niche curiosity to a mainstream pillar of the video-game market, emphasizing the decisive role of APAC developers and Chinese players in shaping its commercial trajectory.
- The souls-like genre has shifted from indie-dominated to AAA-led, with AAA and AA publishers now accounting for over 70% of estimated units sold on Steam.
- Chinese gamers represent approximately 47% of the global souls-like audience, significantly outpacing the United States at 15% and Germany at 5%.
- APAC developers have surged to control roughly 80% of the genre's development share as of 2025, building on a foundation established by Japanese studios.