Do I ship it?

GamesTime ManipulationTime Manipulation + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Time Manipulation game?

Time Manipulation + Aliens

Only 9 developers shipped an Alien Time Manipulation game 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, Otherskin, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 16 more are announced, ×8.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

Only 2 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $270 against a market of $480. 16 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 16 announced, ×8.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $4.6k → $150 → $5.5k
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $4.6k (exactly $4,585)
Top 5% $57k (exactly $56,681)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 33
Announced 16
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 70% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 Manipulation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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 Manipulation
Price point
$8.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 227 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $270, 1 in 4 over $4.5k, 1 in 20 over $56k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 2 developers who shipped in the last year, ×8.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DemonsFair14 devs · median $2.7k · 9 announced
  2. + CapitalismFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 14 announced
  3. + ModernFair12 devs · median $987 · 9 announced
  4. + PsychologicalFair18 devs · median $897 · 17 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair10 devs · median $657 · 15 announced
  6. + RacingFair10 devs · median $599 · 12 announced
  7. + Precision PlatformerFair22 devs · median $598 · 20 announced
  8. + Choose Your Own AdventurePoor odds9 devs · median $13k · 24 announced
  9. + RobotsPoor odds12 devs · median $11k · 16 announced
  10. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds7 devs · median $6.7k · 22 announced
  11. + DetectivePoor odds16 devs · median $6.5k · 32 announced
  12. + NoirPoor odds9 devs · median $6.5k · 15 announced

All 103 pairs on the Time Manipulation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Otherskin $29.99 63 69% 1.9k $57k (exactly $56,681) Game Atelier
Afterglitch older $9.99 24 91% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) Vladimir Kudelka
Forgotten 23 $12.99 14 92% 420 $5.5k (exactly $5,456) KovalGames
Ecstatic older $5.99 28 96% 840 $5.0k (exactly $5,032) PUNKCAKE Delicieux
Hologram older $19.99 8 25% 240 $4.8k (exactly $4,798) Enlighteneer
HEVN older $9.99 16 37% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Miga Games
SuperOffice older $9.99 16 100% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Growing Seed Games
AIRANBLADE $8.99 17 94% 510 $4.6k (exactly $4,585) ANIMABOX
Terminal squad: Sentinel older $3.99 29 55% 870 $3.5k (exactly $3,471) WinDARities, Driod Riot
Another Chance older $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Out Of The Box Studios
Time Flipper $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Lusho
Cosmic Scramble $2.99 3 100% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Nerdy Birdy Games
UKNON Jones & Guynelk 2 $7.00 1 100% 30 $210 (exactly $210) Guynelk ROSAMONT
Farm Invader $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) koppi games
Peerless Heart $0.99 3 100% 90 $89 (exactly $89) Harper Nicholson
Angry Universe VR $14.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) RottacaStudios

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