Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Time Manipulation
Should I ship a Time Manipulation Action RPG?
Action RPG + Time Manipulation
Only 16 developers shipped a Time Manipulation Action RPG 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, The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 39 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×3.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×804 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 39 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.1k (exactly $5,066) |
| Top 25% | $92k (exactly $91,749) |
| Top 5% | $1.2M (exactly $1,203,999) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 37 |
| Announced | 39 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 15% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Action RPG
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Time Manipulation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG, Time Manipulation
- Price point
- $11.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 2,489 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + NavalFair
- + Local Co-OpFair
- + WesternFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + Walking SimulatorLong shot
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
Comparable games
The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II 2025 · $1.2M 
Ascend to ZERO 2026 · $312k 
Ary and the Secret of Seasons 2020 · $161k 
DragonLoop 2025 · $153k 
Retrace the Light 2025 · $92k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II | $59.99 | 669 83% | 20k | $1.2M (exactly $1,203,999) | Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH | |
| | Ascend to ZERO | $11.99 | 867 82% | 26k | $312k (exactly $311,860) | Flyway Games, Inc. | |
| | Ary and the Secret of Seasons | older | $39.99 | 134 64% | 4.0k | $161k (exactly $160,760) | eXiin, Fishing Cactus |
| | DragonLoop | $8.99 | 567 91% | 17k | $153k (exactly $152,920) | 沙因, 小阮 | |
| | Retrace the Light | $17.99 | 170 85% | 5.1k | $92k (exactly $91,749) | Xiaming Game | |
 | Titans of the Past | $24.99 | 108 83% | 3.2k | $81k (exactly $80,968) | Devil's Dozen Games | |
 | XEL | older | $14.99 | 143 48% | 4.3k | $64k (exactly $64,307) | Tiny Roar |
 | Void -Dementia- | older | $14.99 | 29 58% | 870 | $13k (exactly $13,041) | J2YSOFT |
 | Get Up In The Night | $6.99 | 52 98% | 1.6k | $11k (exactly $10,904) | GUITN Studio | |
 | Timewell: Trail of Celestes | older | $17.99 | 20 85% | 600 | $11k (exactly $10,794) | OZBER CIN |
 | Remnants of the Rift | $14.99 | 15 86% | 450 | $6.7k (exactly $6,746) | Bromio | |
 | Paradox Guardians | · EA | $12.99 | 13 38% | 390 | $5.1k (exactly $5,066) | Paraguard |
 | Echobreaker | $8.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $3.2k (exactly $3,236) | Upstream Arcade | |
 | NUSNUR | $4.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) | Team PARAFOX |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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