Do I ship it?

GamesTime ManipulationTime Manipulation + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Time Manipulation game?

Time Manipulation + Artificial Intelligence

Only 10 developers shipped an AI 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, NODE, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×230 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 22 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 22 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 10
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $836 → $3.7k → $7.2k → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 10
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $3.7k (exactly $3,742)
Top 5% $109k (exactly $109,456)
Developers, 2 yr 10
Released games 39
Announced 22
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
$6.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 8 games average 87% positive over 210 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $900, 1 in 4 over $3.7k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 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
SUPERHOT VR older $24.99 7,978 82% 239k $6.0M (exactly $5,981,107) SUPERHOT Team
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel older $11.99 8,097 96% 243k $2.9M (exactly $2,912,491) Conor Petersen, Thunkspace, LLC
The Entropy Centre older $19.99 3,359 89% 101k $2.0M (exactly $2,014,392) Stubby Games
ICBM older $19.99 1,655 91% 50k $993k (exactly $992,503) SoftWarWare, K-Project
NODE $24.99 146 91% 4.4k $109k (exactly $109,456) Lapsus Games
District Steel · EA older $24.99 76 93% 2.3k $57k (exactly $56,977) Barricade Studio
HORROR TALES: The Beggar older $11.99 127 84% 3.8k $46k (exactly $45,682) CarlosGameDev
Mobiles Tycoon older $5.99 177 83% 5.3k $32k (exactly $31,807) Insignis Games
Red Ronin older $7.99 119 87% 3.6k $29k (exactly $28,524) Wired Dreams Studio
The God Unit older $9.99 78 96% 2.3k $23k (exactly $23,377) Cat Floor Studio
Typhon: Bot vs Bot · EA $19.99 12 75% 360 $7.2k (exactly $7,196) Brightshade Games
Arcade Empire Tycoon $4.99 25 68% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) Mind Inside Games
Rescue Team: Ancient Guardian $6.99 11 100% 330 $2.3k (exactly $2,307) Game Mixer
Rescue Team: Attack of the Atom $6.99 11 90% 330 $2.3k (exactly $2,307) Game Mixer
Gallery Theft · EA $9.99 3 33% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Hard Shark Games
Warp Dash $3.99 1 0% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Adweb
Loreen's Purgatory $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) Omega Gaming
Soft(A)ware $18.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) B0TLANNER Games
Code My Robot Vacuum · EA $5.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Umit Canbolat

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