Gothic (video game)

Gothic
Developer(s)	Piranha Bytes
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Windows DE: Egmont Interactive EU: THQ NA: Xicat Interactive Nintendo Switch WW: THQ Nordic
Director(s)	Stefan Nyul Alexander Brüggemann Michael Hoge
Designer(s)	Michael Hoge Alexander Brüggemann Tom Putzki Stefan Nyul
Programmer(s)	Dieter Hildebrand Bert Speckels Ulf Wohlers Carsten Edenfeldl
Artist(s)	Michael Hoge Horst Dworczak
Composer(s)	Kai Rosenkranz
Series	Gothic
Engine	ZenGin
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Nintendo Switch
Release	Microsoft Windows DE: 15 March 2001 EU: 30 October 2001 NA: 23 November 2001 PL: 28 March 2002 Nintendo Switch WW: September 28, 2023
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player

Gothic is a 2001 action role-playing video game developed by Piranha Bytes for Microsoft Windows and the first game of the game series of the same name. It was released on 15 March 2001 in Germany, on 30 October 2001 in Europe, on 23 November 2001 in North America and on 28 March 2002 in Poland. A Nintendo Switch port, titled Gothic Classic, was released worldwide on September 28, 2023.

Gothic was well received by critics. Reviewers credited the game for its story, interaction with other in-game characters, and graphics, but criticized it for having many bugs,^[1] an unusual control scheme and high system requirements.^[2][3][4] At the time of its release in the early 2000's, Gothic 1 and its successors reached wide popularity in Germany, Austria and Eastern-European countries, which led to the build up of a big and long lasting fan- and modding-community in said countries. Gothic was one of the first RPGs worldwide with fully voiced dialogues.

In 2020, THQ Nordic, who owns the series after the acquisition and subsequent dissolution of Piranha Bytes, greenlit a Gothic remake for production.