The chief editor of MeinMMO, Leya, noticed two games particularly at Gamescom. “Love and Deepspace” and “Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori” have in common that they mainly attract women and show how much this target group is still underestimated in the industry.
As I stroll through the halls of Gamescom to look at all the lovingly designed booths, my gaze falls on an unremarkable one: A small box made of cardboard and plastic shows five young, handsome men in anime style. They are romantically staged with deep, vibrant colors and flowers, the displays just waiting to be photographed and admired.
But it’s not the figures that make me pause, but the scene in front of it: In front of the “Love and Deepspace” booth is one of the longest lines I have seen at Gamescom. Most of the people in line are young and cheerful women, laughing, holding their phones ready, wanting to take pictures with the “Boys.” The line is so long that it leads out of the hall.
A line this long, mostly consisting of women – and at a relatively small booth – is an unusual sight at Gamescom. One that makes me thoughtful.
Love and Deepspace: A global hit that many overlook
Many of you probably haven’t heard of “Love and Deepspace” yet, even though it is currently one of the most successful games worldwide:
- As of June 2025, the game has generated over 650 million US dollars in revenue solely from the App Store and Google Play. The revenue is significantly higher through the Chinese Android stores.
- Since its release, more than 50 million downloads have been reached, with a trend on the rise.
- In the top 20 of the world’s highest-grossing mobile games for the first half of 2025, Love and Deepspace is listed in 16th place, just behind giants like Genshin Impact, Roblox, and Candy Crush Saga.
Let these numbers sink in for a moment.
Shocking news: Women enjoy deep gameplay too
The reason why “Love and Deepspace” is such a massive success and why so many people are queuing at Gamescom is simple:
The graphic novel and dating sim understands its target audience, takes it seriously, and offers deep gameplay that affects the story and achievements – plus, it is visually impressive.
In short, “Love and Deepspace” is set in a science fiction setting, where the self-created protagonist, as a Deepspace Hunter, fights dangerous creatures and builds soul mate relationships with several men who have supernatural powers. You can get a taste of how these are staged in the event trailer for the character Xavier:
Particularly strong is the high production quality: fully animated 3D models and detailed environments instead of static images – a rarity in dating sims. The relationships with the mystical men directly influence strength and abilities in combat, so they are not just a gimmick. Added to this is an action-based RPG real-time combat system and a deep relationship management that gradually reveals the lore of the characters.
The combination of sci-fi story, action, and dating clearly sets the game apart from the crowd. It appeals to fans of romantic visual novels as well as RPGs.
The studio behind it, Papergames (known for Infinity Nikki), specializes in romantic-themed, deep mobile games – and is now securing a place at the top of the gaming world.
There are many strong shooters – but where are the strong horse games?
The second game that caught my eye also shows how much untapped potential lies in underestimated target groups: Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori.
As the chief editor of MeinMMO, I receive a huge flood of emails daily with information about new games. The bitter truth: Most of them end up unread in the trash. The volume is simply overwhelming, even though surely each individual work deserves more attention than my time allows.
But to stand out in this mass – especially in overflowing genres like shooters and action RPGs – you need a well-known name or a strong unique selling point. This is exactly the case with “Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori.”
When I first heard of the non-violent open-world horse game, I was immediately filled with curiosity and made an appointment at Gamescom right away. Right in the first gameplay trailer, it became clear that the connection to the horse plays a central role and influences the gameplay.
A community that has long been underestimated
Just like with “Love and Deepspace,” it also holds true here: The target group, which consists mostly of women, has been grossly neglected and poorly understood. The blog The Mane Quest by horse and gaming fan Alice Ruppert has been addressing this problem for years. She shows in her posts how horses have been represented anatomically inaccurately in games for decades – and how developers, very exaggeratedly, have often thought, apparently: “Just throw a horse in there, it will be enough. After all, they are just girls who don’t need good gameplay.”
Yet the community is huge – and they want games with real depth. The success speaks for itself, as GameStar reported: Over 475,000 euros on Kickstarter made “Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori” the second most successful German video game campaign ever, just behind Everspace 2.
The Munich studio Aesir Interactive, which has developed several Windstorm games, focuses heavily on realistic horse physics, behavior, and animation. During my hands-on experience at Gamescom, I was able to experience this myself: detailed statistics such as cold resistance or stamina that can be trained, and a clear focus on the mechanics surrounding the horse. A deeper story is expected to follow in early access later.
Thus, Aesir is indeed currently alone in the field.
Yes, there are horse games, and yes, Red Dead Redemption 2 is often played as a horse simulation. But even there, the horse is not the heart of the gameplay. “Winstorm: The Legend of Khiimori” could close this gap – because the studio takes the target audience seriously and understands their wishes.
Games for women are not a niche but a multi-million market
And that’s exactly what connects “Love and Deepspace” and “Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori”: They show how much the industry gives away when it dismisses women as a fringe group and develops past their needs. For decades, shooters have been lining up, while a huge target group is ignored, ridiculed, or fobbed off with careless imitations. These two games prove the opposite: Women want the same as everyone – depth, quality, passion.
Those who consistently consider women in games will not only have the moral high ground but also the economic advantage.
