Do I ship it?

GamesDating SimDating Sim + Gothic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Gothic Dating Sim?

Dating Sim + Gothic

Of 27 developers who shipped a Gothic Dating Sim in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 220% on the market; 30 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 220% on the market, 30 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dating Sim + Gothic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $18k → $1.1k → $386 → $1.0k → $3.0k (still earning) → $10k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dating Sim + Gothic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $360 (exactly $360)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 25% $9.9k (exactly $9,891)
Top 5% $97k (exactly $96,686)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 56
Announced 30
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 220% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Dating Sim
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Gothic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Dating Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Idler, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Dark, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 1,877 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $9.8k, 1 in 20 over $96k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Dating Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WarStrong odds8 devs · median $100k · 3 announced
  2. + FMVStrong odds148 devs · median $57k · 111 announced
  3. + Souls-likeStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  4. + AliensStrong odds20 devs · median $6.7k · 15 announced
  5. + PlatformerStrong odds19 devs · median $3.0k · 15 announced
  6. + HistoricalFair39 devs · median $27k · 44 announced
  7. + FPSFair47 devs · median $19k · 36 announced
  8. + Post-apocalypticFair29 devs · median $15k · 34 announced
  9. + Quick-Time EventsFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  10. + Immersive SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  11. + Action-AdventureFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  12. + TacticalFair13 devs · median $11k · 9 announced

All 142 pairs on the Dating Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Money for Girls: Amortized $15.00 795 98% 24k $358k (exactly $357,750) Porpentine
My Lovely Wife older $14.99 685 74% 21k $308k (exactly $308,044) GameChanger Studio, Toge Productions
Countess in Crimson older $9.99 833 83% 25k $250k (exactly $249,650) Digital Seductions
The Princess, the Stray Cat, and Matters of the Heart older $19.99 335 89% 10k $201k (exactly $200,899) TOKYOTOON
Romancelvania older $24.99 253 75% 7.6k $190k (exactly $189,674) The Deep End Games
When The Night Comes older $12.99 289 92% 8.7k $113k (exactly $112,623) Lunaris Games
The Princess, the Stray Cat, and Matters of the Heart 2 older $19.99 171 92% 5.1k $103k (exactly $102,549) TOKYOTOON
Lair Land Story older $14.99 226 84% 6.8k $102k (exactly $101,632) CIRCLE Ent., Arc System Works, Initory… (CIRCLE Ent., Arc System Works, Initory Studio)
Lust Sisters 🔞 $14.99 215 67% 6.5k $97k (exactly $96,686) Carnality INC
Big Tiddy Goth Baddie🖤⛓️ $14.99 152 76% 4.6k $68k (exactly $68,354) BanzaiProject
Goth Obsession: Touch Adventure $2.99 560 81% 17k $50k (exactly $50,232) Mora the Goth Girl
RAVENSBURG $14.99 45 95% 1.4k $20k (exactly $20,236) Lilian Duleroux
DEVIL'S LIMINAL $13.99 24 100% 720 $10k (exactly $10,073) Studio Interlude
EmyLiveShow: Demons & Mistresses Tale $10.99 30 83% 900 $9.9k (exactly $9,891) Team Emily
Crimson Waves on the Emerald Sea: Amaranthine Moon $16.99 10 100% 300 $5.1k (exactly $5,097) Crystal Game Works
Memory of Lust $7.99 19 78% 570 $4.6k (exactly $4,554) Desire Forger
Saccharine Echo $4.99 27 85% 810 $4.0k (exactly $4,042) Neverliss

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.