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Should I ship a Gothic Interactive Fiction?
Interactive Fiction + Gothic
Of 42 developers who shipped a Gothic Interactive Fiction 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.. 67 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×6.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $68k, ×144 the market median. Revenue is up 185% on the market; 67 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.0k (exactly $3,045) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,288) |
| Top 5% | $68k (exactly $68,354) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 117 |
| Announced | 67 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 185% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
- 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
- Interactive Fiction; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,567 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 67 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Interactive Fiction with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVFair
- + Match 3Fair
- + VampiresFair
- + SportsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + PiratesFair
- + DrivingFair
- + DiplomacyFair
- + Perma DeathFair
- + Board GameFair
- + SnowFair
- + BuildingFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | My Lovely Daughter | older | $14.99 | 1,165 70% | 35k | $524k (exactly $523,900) | GameChanger Studio |
| | Lamplight City | older | $14.99 | 802 89% | 24k | $361k (exactly $360,659) | Grundislav Games |
| | My Lovely Wife | older | $14.99 | 685 74% | 21k | $308k (exactly $308,044) | GameChanger Studio, Toge Productions |
| | The 7th Guest Remake | $19.99 | 241 86% | 7.2k | $145k (exactly $144,528) | Vertigo Games, Exkee | |
| | A House of Many Doors | older | $10.99 | 383 83% | 11k | $126k (exactly $126,275) | Pixel Trickery |
| | Saint Kotar | older | $19.99 | 203 70% | 6.1k | $122k (exactly $121,739) | The-Mark Entertainment |
| | When The Night Comes | older | $12.99 | 289 92% | 8.7k | $113k (exactly $112,623) | Lunaris Games |
| | Duskpunk | $19.99 | 171 91% | 5.1k | $103k (exactly $102,549) | Clockwork Bird, James Patton | |
| | Salthe | older | $14.99 | 193 82% | 5.8k | $87k (exactly $86,792) | Soiree |
| | Big Tiddy Goth Baddie🖤⛓️ | $14.99 | 152 76% | 4.6k | $68k (exactly $68,354) | BanzaiProject | |
| | Daemonologie | $2.99 | 561 92% | 17k | $50k (exactly $50,322) | Katanalevy | |
| | The Crimson Maid | $14.99 | 104 87% | 3.1k | $47k (exactly $46,769) | GrimTalin, Darkania Works | |
| | Forsaker:DingDing&Blade | $10.99 | 124 75% | 3.7k | $41k (exactly $40,883) | 圣剑提灯制作组 [BladeLanternStudios] | |
| | 49 Keys | $9.99 | 76 77% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $22,777) | Michele Buonanno, Veronica Wu, Fabio Po… (Michele Buonanno, Veronica Wu, Fabio Porfidia) | |
| | Scarlet Defiance: The Wall Between Us | $14.99 | 42 76% | 1.3k | $19k (exactly $18,887) | Vmmersion Studios | |
| | I Write Games Not Tragedies | $12.99 | 47 100% | 1.4k | $18k (exactly $18,316) | Studio Wife | |
| | RUNT | $9.99 | 49 79% | 1.5k | $15k (exactly $14,685) | Grimtaste Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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