Games › Arcade › Arcade + Time Travel
Should I ship a Time-Travel Arcade game?
Arcade + Time Travel
Only 19 developers shipped a Time-Travel Arcade 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, Pizza Bandit, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 37 more are announced, ×4.1 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 $130k, ×292 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 37 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) |
| Top 25% | $7.6k (exactly $7,635) |
| Top 5% | $139k (exactly $138,694) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 19 |
| Released games | 61 |
| Announced | 37 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Arcade
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Time Travel
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Arcade; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 445 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Arcade with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + TrainsFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + MiningFair
- + FaithFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + LootFair
- + VampiresFair
Comparable games
Wanderer 2022 · $989k 
Pizza Bandit 2025 · EA · $139k 
Conduct DELUXE! 2017 · $63k 
Time Survivors 2024 · $41k 
Pixel Ripped 1978: An Atari Adventure 2023 · $39k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Wanderer | older | $39.99 | 824 83% | 25k | $989k (exactly $988,553) | Mighty Eyes |
| | Pizza Bandit | · EA | $24.99 | 185 82% | 5.6k | $139k (exactly $138,694) | JOFSOFT |
| | Conduct DELUXE! | older | $9.99 | 210 83% | 6.3k | $63k (exactly $62,937) | Northplay |
| | Time Survivors | older | $4.99 | 272 61% | 8.2k | $41k (exactly $40,718) | Lunar Chili |
| | Pixel Ripped 1978: An Atari Adventure | older | $24.99 | 52 76% | 1.6k | $39k (exactly $38,984) | ARVORE |
 | Dragon's Lair 2: Time Warp | older | $9.99 | 107 77% | 3.2k | $32k (exactly $32,068) | Digital Leisure Inc. |
 | Time Recoil | older | $13.99 | 65 76% | 2.0k | $27k (exactly $27,280) | 10tons Ltd |
 | TimeShifters | older | $4.99 | 167 93% | 5.0k | $25k (exactly $25,000) | FossettGaming |
 | Dave.EXE | · EA | $14.99 | 55 94% | 1.7k | $25k (exactly $24,734) | Dave Microwaves Games |
 | Origament: A Paper Adventure | $9.99 | 76 90% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $22,777) | Space Sauce Studio | |
 | Reality Rash | $17.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $9.7k (exactly $9,715) | Give your jumps | |
 | Tale of Immortal Ring | $4.99 | 51 66% | 1.5k | $7.6k (exactly $7,635) | Solo Gaming | |
 | BARD'S FAULT | $9.99 | 21 80% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | Sunabi Studios | |
 | Collateral Dungeon | $9.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | Techosaurus Studios | |
 | Planet Keeper Program | $5.99 | 9 100% | 270 | $1.6k (exactly $1,617) | Robo-Human Studios | |
 | Morse vs. Horse | $4.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) | Company with your friends | |
 | Death Kid | $4.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) | Crooked Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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