Games › Investigation › Investigation + Gothic
Should I ship a Gothic Investigation game?
Investigation + Gothic
Of 26 developers who shipped a Gothic Investigation game 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.. 54 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $8.1k, ×17 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×664 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 54 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $8.1k (exactly $8,086) |
| Top 25% | $50k (exactly $50,322) |
| Top 5% | $316k (exactly $315,624) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 58 |
| Announced | 54 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 down 15% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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
- Investigation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Point & Click
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 32,494 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 6 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Investigation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Escape RoomFair
- + IdlerFair
- + TriviaLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
- + NoirPoor odds
Comparable games
Magical Girl Witch Trials 2025 · $27M 
Wytchwood 2021 · $2.4M 
At Dead Of Night 2020 · $1.6M 
NORCO 2022 · $1.2M 
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition 2014 · $566k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Magical Girl Witch Trials | $29.99 | 29,869 96% | 896k | $27M (exactly $26,873,139) | Acacia, Re,AER | |
| | Wytchwood | older | $19.99 | 4,030 92% | 121k | $2.4M (exactly $2,416,791) | Alientrap |
| | At Dead Of Night | older | $15.99 | 3,289 94% | 99k | $1.6M (exactly $1,577,733) | Baggy Cat Ltd. |
| | NORCO | older | $14.99 | 2,774 92% | 83k | $1.2M (exactly $1,247,468) | Geography of Robots |
| | Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition | older | $19.99 | 944 89% | 28k | $566k (exactly $566,117) | Phoenix Online Studios, Pinkerton Road… (Phoenix Online Studios, Pinkerton Road Studio) |
 | The Inquisitor | older | $39.99 | 277 66% | 8.3k | $332k (exactly $332,317) | The Dust S.A. |
 | ASYLUM | $24.99 | 421 84% | 13k | $316k (exactly $315,624) | Senscape | |
 | The Horror at Highrook | $19.99 | 461 90% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Nullpointer Games | |
 | Clock Tower: Rewind | $19.99 | 460 88% | 14k | $276k (exactly $275,862) | WayForward, Limited Run Games | |
 | Black Closet | older | $19.99 | 246 91% | 7.4k | $148k (exactly $147,526) | Hanako Games |
 | Riddlewood Manor | $14.99 | 132 93% | 4.0k | $59k (exactly $59,360) | Peanut Button | |
 | Welcome to Doll Town | $4.99 | 351 42% | 11k | $53k (exactly $52,545) | Bad Wish Games | |
 | 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 | |
 | Evil Awaits™ | $16.99 | 49 75% | 1.5k | $25k (exactly $24,975) | Chai Games | |
 | The Silver Crow | $6.99 | 86 97% | 2.6k | $18k (exactly $18,034) | Dreamagination |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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