Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Gothic
Should I ship a Gothic Perma Death game?
Perma Death + Gothic
Only 18 developers shipped a Gothic Perma Death game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Void War, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 36 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $2.1M, ×4612 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 36 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,259) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,086) |
| Top 5% | $2.2M (exactly $2,190,704) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 46 |
| Announced | 36 |
| 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 down 30% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Perma Death
- 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
- Perma Death; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action RPG, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Isometric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 4,554 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Perma Death with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Strong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + PiratesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
Comparable games
Darkest Dungeon® 2016 · $106M 
Darkest Dungeon® II 2023 · $29M 
Othercide 2020 · $4.1M 
Void War 2025 · $2.2M 
Corpse Keeper 2024 · $675k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Darkest Dungeon® | older | $24.99 | 140,790 91% | 4.2M | $106M (exactly $105,550,263) | Red Hook Studios |
| | Darkest Dungeon® II | older | $39.99 | 24,249 74% | 727k | $29M (exactly $29,091,525) | Red Hook Studios |
| | Othercide | older | $29.99 | 4,516 82% | 135k | $4.1M (exactly $4,063,045) | Lightbulb Crew |
| | Void War | $19.99 | 3,653 94% | 110k | $2.2M (exactly $2,190,704) | Tundra | |
| | Corpse Keeper | older | $19.99 | 1,126 76% | 34k | $675k (exactly $675,262) | Melancholia Studio |
 | Netherworld Covenant | $19.99 | 597 78% | 18k | $358k (exactly $358,021) | MadGoat Game Studio | |
 | Loot River | older | $24.99 | 355 69% | 11k | $266k (exactly $266,144) | straka.studio |
 | Our Darker Purpose | older | $14.99 | 553 82% | 17k | $249k (exactly $248,684) | Avidly Wild Games |
 | BEAST: False Prophet | · EA older | $24.99 | 189 64% | 5.7k | $142k (exactly $141,693) | False Prophet |
 | The Banished Vault | older | $24.99 | 189 78% | 5.7k | $142k (exactly $141,693) | Lunar Division |
 | Peregrino | $16.99 | 174 65% | 5.2k | $89k (exactly $88,688) | Inverge Studios | |
 | Demiurges | $14.99 | 36 88% | 1.1k | $16k (exactly $16,189) | Berih | |
 | Ascendant | $9.99 | 47 70% | 1.4k | $14k (exactly $14,086) | Imagisphere | |
 | Queen Slayer | $6.99 | 24 54% | 720 | $5.0k (exactly $5,033) | Mantaray161 | |
 | SUBMERSIBLE | $8.99 | 10 80% | 300 | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) | CJB Games | |
 | Throne Requiem | $19.99 | 4 25% | 120 | $2.4k (exactly $2,399) | Michael Richard Lannon | |
 | Slot or Die | $13.99 | 3 33% | 90 | $1.3k (exactly $1,259) | cr0cq | |
 | Ghoul Thrasher | $5.99 | 6 83% | 180 | $1.1k (exactly $1,078) | Magic Quest Media |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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