Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Time Management game?

Building + Time Management

Of 262 developers who shipped a Building 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.. 395 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.7k, ×7.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×578 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 395 games are announced against 167 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 395 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 262
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.3k → $18k → $4.4k → $6.1k → $9.0k → $5.1k → $3.0k (still earning) → $7.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 262
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $4.7k (exactly $4,719)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $33,289)
Top 5% $363k (exactly $362,818)
Developers, 2 yr 262
Released games 585
Announced 395
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 85% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building, Time Management; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 89,780 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $4.7k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 116 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 395 games are announced against 167 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Farming Simulator 25 2024 · $36M Farthest Frontier 2025 · $26M Parkitect 2018 · $6.1M Tavern Master 2021 · $5.7M Software Inc. 2015 · EA · $5.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Farming Simulator 25 $29.99 39,681 87% 1.2M $36M (exactly $35,700,996) GIANTS Software
Farthest Frontier $34.99 24,444 86% 733k $26M (exactly $25,658,867) Crate Entertainment
Parkitect older $29.99 6,809 94% 204k $6.1M (exactly $6,126,057) Texel Raptor
Tavern Master older $14.99 12,613 92% 378k $5.7M (exactly $5,672,066) Untitled Studio
Software Inc. · EA older $22.99 7,576 94% 227k $5.2M (exactly $5,225,167) Coredumping
The Tenants older $19.99 7,071 79% 212k $4.2M (exactly $4,240,479) EndGameLoop Games
Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator $17.99 7,019 83% 211k $3.8M (exactly $3,788,154) Biotech Gameworks
Let's School older $19.99 5,887 92% 177k $3.5M (exactly $3,530,434) Pathea Games
News Tower $24.99 4,316 94% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,235,705) Sparrow Night
BOOK OF HOURS older $24.99 4,129 89% 124k $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) Weather Factory
gogh: Focus with Your Avatar $11.99 4,811 91% 144k $1.7M (exactly $1,730,517) ambr
Recycling Center Simulator $19.99 2,594 84% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,555,622) Balas Games
Global Rescue · EA $24.99 1,864 86% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,397,441) PeDePe GbR
Discounty $19.99 2,322 82% 70k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,503) Crinkle Cut Games
Farmer's Dynasty 2 · EA $24.99 1,225 72% 37k $918k (exactly $918,382) UMEO Studios
Havendock $19.99 1,504 81% 45k $902k (exactly $901,949) YYZ Studio

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