Do I ship it?

GamesSandboxSandbox + Gothic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Gothic Sandbox?

Sandbox + Gothic

Only 9 developers shipped a Gothic Sandbox 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, Vampires: Bloodlord Rising, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $970k, ×1558 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 20 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sandbox + Gothic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Sandbox + Gothic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,317)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $24,689)
Top 5% $978k (exactly $978,111)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 27
Announced 20
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 700% 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.

Sandbox
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Sandbox
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 27,400 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $24k, 1 in 20 over $970k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FightingStrong odds11 devs · median $76k · 8 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair20 devs · median $224k · 19 announced
  3. + World War IIFair14 devs · median $146k · 13 announced
  4. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $17k · 12 announced
  5. + ProgrammingFair60 devs · median $7.0k · 71 announced
  6. + CatsFair63 devs · median $4.8k · 74 announced
  7. + SportsFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  8. + GamblingFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 31 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 42 announced
  10. + Combat RacingFair21 devs · median $1.8k · 26 announced
  11. + Trading Card GameFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  12. + IdlerFair258 devs · median $1.2k · 306 announced

All 233 pairs on the Sandbox page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Gothic® 3 older $19.99 9,088 80% 273k $5.5M (exactly $5,450,074) Piranha Bytes
Risen older $14.99 7,878 89% 236k $3.5M (exactly $3,542,737) Piranha Bytes, THQ Nordic
Risen 3 - Titan Lords older $14.99 4,403 73% 132k $2.0M (exactly $1,980,029) Piranha Bytes
Risen 2: Dark Waters older $9.99 3,533 80% 106k $1.1M (exactly $1,058,840) Piranha Bytes
Vampires: Bloodlord Rising · EA $19.99 1,631 70% 49k $978k (exactly $978,111) Mehuman Games
Erannorth Chronicles older $20.99 407 85% 12k $256k (exactly $256,288) Spyridon Thalassinos
Noch older $9.99 252 78% 7.6k $76k (exactly $75,524) Fair Games Studio, Noostyche
Claymores of the Lost Kingdom $9.99 83 67% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,875) Ultaan Games
The Story Page · EA $7.99 103 78% 3.1k $25k (exactly $24,689) SPR-Games
CASTILLO: The Nine Circles older $9.99 22 100% 660 $6.6k (exactly $6,593) Jackson Clayton
Assassin Of Goblin $3.99 12 66% 360 $1.4k (exactly $1,436) Saylor Games
Scribed castle $3.99 11 90% 330 $1.3k (exactly $1,317) Marginalact
Worm in horror place $4.99 2 50% 60 $299 (exactly $299) DIG Games
Sad Virus Darkland $2.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Kendall Studios, Valkeala Software
Jack Bonecroft 4 $12.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Galactic Tenebris Company
Super Clown Spookyland $2.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Valkeala Software

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