Do I ship it?

Games › Automation › Automation + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Automation game?

Automation + Time Management

Of 162 developers who shipped a Time Management Automation 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.. 191 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $270. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 191 games are announced against 119 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 191 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automation + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 162
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $19k → $4.2k → $1.9k → $2.4k → $1.4k → $1.3k (still earning) → $330 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automation + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 162
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,860)
Top 5% $187k (exactly $186,507)
Developers, 2 yr 162
Released games 295
Announced 191
Effort 6 / 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 down 25% on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

Automation
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Automation, Time Management; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Resource Management
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 17,289 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 191 games are announced against 119 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Automation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds36 devs · median $57k · 31 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistStrong odds27 devs · median $4.5k · 32 announced
  3. + Open World Survival CraftFair28 devs · median $307k · 37 announced
  4. + HorrorFair19 devs · median $8.0k · 29 announced
  5. + HistoricalFair26 devs · median $7.9k · 24 announced
  6. + UndergroundFair20 devs · median $7.4k · 32 announced
  7. + Class-BasedFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  8. + MiningFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair112 devs · median $4.5k · 153 announced
  10. + ProgrammingFair84 devs · median $3.8k · 102 announced
  11. + FishingFair40 devs · median $3.4k · 46 announced
  12. + Turn-Based TacticsFair28 devs · median $2.9k · 36 announced

All 135 pairs on the Automation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Software Inc. 2015 · EA · $5.2M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M Rail Route 2024 · $1.8M Recycling Center Simulator 2024 · $1.6M Havendock 2025 · $902k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Software Inc. · EA older $22.99 7,576 94% 227k $5.2M (exactly $5,225,167) Coredumping
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Rail Route older $24.99 2,400 88% 72k $1.8M (exactly $1,799,280) Bitrich.info
Recycling Center Simulator $19.99 2,594 84% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,555,622) Balas Games
Havendock $19.99 1,504 81% 45k $902k (exactly $901,949) YYZ Studio
Car Manufacture · EA older $19.99 1,395 66% 42k $837k (exactly $836,581) STEREO GAMES S.A.
The Last Clockwinder older $24.99 776 96% 23k $582k (exactly $581,767) Pontoco
River Town Factory older $14.99 1,277 88% 38k $574k (exactly $574,267) iFAction Studio
Astronomics · EA $19.99 706 89% 21k $423k (exactly $423,388) Numizmatic
Transport INC older $11.99 1,014 69% 30k $365k (exactly $364,736) DIGIFOX
Medieval Crafter: Blacksmith $11.99 745 76% 22k $268k (exactly $267,976) Compact Core Games
Console Shop Simulator · EA $15.99 516 92% 15k $248k (exactly $247,525) Lance Games
Ultimate Theater Simulator $12.99 634 88% 19k $247k (exactly $247,070) RAKTWO Games, steelbox Games
Data Center $8.99 916 76% 27k $247k (exactly $247,045) Waseku
Craftlings $19.99 311 86% 9.3k $187k (exactly $186,507) ARIANO Games GmbH
Futanari★Coffee shop $13.99 357 91% 11k $150k (exactly $149,833) W77Games

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