Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Gothic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Gothic Souls-like?

Souls-like + Gothic

Of 35 developers who shipped a Gothic Souls-like 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.. 72 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $8.9k, ×5.9 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.9M, ×1329 the market median. Revenue is up 285% on the market; 72 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 285% on the market, 72 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Gothic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.7k → $29k → $126k → $6.4k → $7.2k → $23k (still earning) → $34k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Gothic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $2.9k (exactly $2,936)
Median $8.9k (exactly $8,869)
Top 25% $150k (exactly $150,200)
Top 5% $2.0M (exactly $1,990,404)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 91
Announced 72
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 285% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action-Adventure, Action, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 26,266 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.0k, median $8.9k, 1 in 4 over $150k, 1 in 20 over $1.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 72 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Lies of P 2023 · $105M No Rest for the Wicked 2024 · EA · $79M Blasphemous 2019 · $41M Thymesia 2022 · $6.2M Fear & Hunger 2: Termina 2022 · $5.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lies of P older $59.99 58,411 91% 1.8M $105M (exactly $105,122,277) NEOWIZ
No Rest for the Wicked · EA older $39.99 66,102 80% 2.0M $79M (exactly $79,302,569) Moon Studios GmbH
Blasphemous older $24.99 54,724 90% 1.6M $41M (exactly $41,026,583) The Game Kitchen
Thymesia older $24.99 8,262 82% 248k $6.2M (exactly $6,194,021) OverBorder Studio
Fear & Hunger 2: Termina older $11.99 14,232 97% 427k $5.1M (exactly $5,119,250) Miro Haverinen
Mina the Hollower $19.99 7,562 88% 227k $4.5M (exactly $4,534,931) Yacht Club Games
The Last Faith older $27.99 4,661 83% 140k $3.9M (exactly $3,913,842) Kumi Souls Games
VOIN · EA $19.99 3,319 94% 100k $2.0M (exactly $1,990,404) Nikita Sozidar
Crimson Moon $19.99 2,760 59% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,655,172) ProbablyMonsters
Nunholy $7.99 5,150 88% 155k $1.2M (exactly $1,234,455) Chowbie
Grimlord $29.99 927 78% 28k $834k (exactly $834,022) Metalcat Interactive Co.,Ltd
Verho - Curse of Faces $19.99 1,219 91% 37k $731k (exactly $731,034) Kasur Games
The Dark Queen of Mortholme $4.99 4,075 83% 122k $610k (exactly $610,028) Mosu
Crimson Oath $14.99 750 82% 23k $337k (exactly $337,275) Parry Frames Team
Tearscape $14.99 334 90% 10k $150k (exactly $150,200) NERDS TAKE OVER
Dark Dominion $14.99 170 72% 5.1k $76k (exactly $76,449) ZERO5GAMES

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