Do I ship it?

Games › Time Management › Time Management + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Time Management game?

Time Management + Aliens

Of 28 developers who shipped an Alien Time Management 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.. 48 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $48k, ×102 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 48 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 48 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $83k → $22k → $359 → $6.1k → $1.5k → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $6.1k (exactly $6,138)
Top 5% $48k (exactly $48,323)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 57
Announced 48
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 60% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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.

Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Aliens
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
Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Co-op
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,094 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $6.1k, 1 in 20 over $48k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dungeon CrawlerFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair15 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  3. + Inventory ManagementFair181 devs · median $2.9k · 228 announced
  4. + AgricultureFair57 devs · median $2.3k · 73 announced
  5. + Time TravelFair17 devs · median $2.2k · 19 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair27 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  7. + LootFair34 devs · median $1.5k · 47 announced
  8. + Turn-Based TacticsFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  9. + AutomationFair162 devs · median $1.2k · 191 announced
  10. + Bullet HellFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  11. + ThrillerFair42 devs · median $1.1k · 65 announced
  12. + Artificial IntelligenceFair53 devs · median $1.0k · 65 announced

All 179 pairs on the Time Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M Godlike Burger 2022 · $477k Undead Inc. 2024 · $95k Sex Shop Simulator: X-RAY DESIRE 2025 · $94k KallaX 2023 · $83k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lethal Company · EA older $9.99 411,550 97% 12M $123M (exactly $123,341,535) Zeekerss
Godlike Burger older $19.99 796 75% 24k $477k (exactly $477,361) Liquid Pug
Undead Inc. older $19.99 158 27% 4.7k $95k (exactly $94,753) Rightsized Games
Sex Shop Simulator: X-RAY DESIRE $6.99 448 68% 13k $94k (exactly $93,946) Doorway Games
KallaX older $9.99 278 84% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Unexpected
Alien Market Simulator $12.99 124 83% 3.7k $48k (exactly $48,323) Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainme… (Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainment)
Burger Bots Inc. $7.99 109 91% 3.3k $26k (exactly $26,127) Normogames
Cryptid Farm $4.99 153 96% 4.6k $23k (exactly $22,904) GameByFlamey
Bunker Invaders · EA $6.99 103 82% 3.1k $22k (exactly $21,599) Kelecik
Startenders: Intergalactic Bartending older $14.99 48 85% 1.4k $22k (exactly $21,586) Foggy Box Games
These Darker Tides $7.99 76 90% 2.3k $18k (exactly $18,217) Pixel Drip Games
Cam Star! $4.99 41 68% 1.2k $6.1k (exactly $6,138) PINKU!
Forgotten 23 $12.99 14 92% 420 $5.5k (exactly $5,456) KovalGames
Fungal Colony Sim 2 $7.99 13 61% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Skylor Beck
Rescue Team: Lights. Camera. Outer Space $6.99 13 76% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) Game Mixer

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