Games › Dating Sim › Dating Sim + Gothic
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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Dating Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WarStrong odds
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Souls-likeStrong odds
- + AliensStrong odds
- + PlatformerStrong odds
- + HistoricalFair
- + FPSFair
- + Post-apocalypticFair
- + Quick-Time EventsFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Action-AdventureFair
- + TacticalFair
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.