Do I ship it?

GamesAdventureAdventure + Time Travel

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time-Travel Adventure game?

Adventure + Time Travel

Of 139 developers who shipped a Time-Travel Adventure game 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.. 238 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×6.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×699 the market median. Revenue is up 110% on the market; 238 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 110% on the market, 238 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Time Travel
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 139
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $2.5k → $2.7k → $4.0k → $2.1k → $6.3k → $2.1k (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Time Travel: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 139
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,055)
Top 25% $34k (exactly $33,583)
Top 5% $332k (exactly $332,234)
Developers, 2 yr 139
Released games 486
Announced 238
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 110% on the market, supply 10% fewer 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Adventure
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Time Travel
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Adventure; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Puzzle, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, 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 11,292 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $330k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 82 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 238 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SamuraiFair13 devs · median $261k · 14 announced
  2. + FMVFair144 devs · median $39k · 151 announced
  3. + PinballFair11 devs · median $8.1k · 17 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair40 devs · median $6.3k · 50 announced
  5. + Escape RoomFair165 devs · median $2.2k · 151 announced
  6. + Mini GolfFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 11 announced
  7. + SportsFair228 devs · median $1.5k · 224 announced
  8. + GolfFair18 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair384 devs · median $1.2k · 420 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair33 devs · median $599 · 33 announced
  11. + Traditional RoguelikeFair89 devs · median $449 · 119 announced
  12. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds10 devs · median $561k · 7 announced

All 279 pairs on the Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Last Epoch older $34.99 106,364 76% 3.2M $112M (exactly $111,650,291) Eleventh Hour Games
BioShock Infinite older $29.99 109,718 93% 3.3M $99M (exactly $98,713,285) Irrational Games, Virtual Programming (… (Irrational Games, Virtual Programming (Linux))
Sonic Generations Collection older $51.79 20,304 93% 609k $32M (exactly $31,546,325) Devil's Details
Quantum Break older $39.99 23,141 86% 694k $28M (exactly $27,762,258) Remedy Entertainment
STEINS;GATE older $29.99 25,289 97% 759k $23M (exactly $22,752,513) MAGES. Inc.
ASTLIBRA Revision older $24.99 30,262 95% 908k $23M (exactly $22,687,421) KEIZO
Life is Strange: Before the Storm older $16.99 33,504 93% 1.0M $17M (exactly $17,076,989) Deck Nine, Feral Interactive (Mac), Fer… (Deck Nine, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
Life is Strange Remastered older $39.99 9,187 91% 276k $11M (exactly $11,021,644) Deck Nine
Raging Loop older $29.99 10,568 95% 317k $9.5M (exactly $9,508,030) KEMCO
The Forgotten City older $24.99 11,159 96% 335k $8.4M (exactly $8,365,902) Modern Storyteller
DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined $59.99 2,138 88% 64k $3.8M (exactly $3,847,759) Square Enix, HEXADRIVE Inc.
STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT $59.99 594 88% 18k $1.1M (exactly $1,069,022) MAGES. Inc.
Multiverse Loot Hunter $11.99 2,585 80% 78k $930k (exactly $929,824) 游戏养家工作室
Rue Valley $14.99 1,905 69% 57k $857k (exactly $856,678) Emotion Spark Studio
Old Skies $19.99 969 93% 29k $581k (exactly $581,109) Wadjet Eye Games
Million Depth $16.99 673 93% 20k $343k (exactly $343,028) Cyber Space Biotope
The Posthumous Investigation $19.99 554 94% 17k $332k (exactly $332,234) Mother Gaia Studio
Sexbot $14.99 723 86% 22k $325k (exactly $325,133) Llamamann Games
Cybernetic Fault $14.99 679 78% 20k $305k (exactly $305,346) Whale Rock Games
Seedsow Lullaby $20.99 472 97% 14k $297k (exactly $297,218) iMel Inc.

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