Do I ship it?

GamesBuildingBuilding + Time Manipulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Time Manipulation game?

Building + Time Manipulation

Only 15 developers shipped a Building 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, Hotel Architect, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×2771 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 26 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 26 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Time Manipulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $2.5k → $2.3k → $2.3k → $599 → $1.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Time Manipulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,438)
Top 25% $41k (exactly $40,923)
Top 5% $1.7M (exactly $1,740,020)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 53
Announced 26
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 down 55% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than 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.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Time Manipulation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building, Time Manipulation
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 2,924 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $40k, 1 in 20 over $1.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hotel Architect $29.99 1,934 94% 58k $1.7M (exactly $1,740,020) Pathos Interactive
Cube Chaos $11.99 621 95% 19k $223k (exactly $223,374) Wunarg
Train World older $34.99 85 75% 2.6k $89k (exactly $89,224) Turn Point Games
Check Inn $14.99 197 84% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) KishMish Games
Hotel Giant 2 older $7.99 268 47% 8.0k $64k (exactly $64,240) Enlight Software Limited, PerspectX
Destructive Physics - Destruction Simulator older $19.99 87 78% 2.6k $52k (exactly $52,174) KreizLand Games
Oasis Mission: Colony Sim $14.99 91 56% 2.7k $41k (exactly $40,923) Lunar pug studio
Natti · EA older $7.99 109 58% 3.3k $26k (exactly $26,127) 4DAYS LAB Co., Ltd.
Industry Giant older $9.99 70 77% 2.1k $21k (exactly $20,979) QLOC
Omnibullet older $11.99 36 100% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,949) Arbitrary Combination
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
Stop the Blight $12.99 4 50% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) Bouncy Washer
Destructive Contraptions $7.99 6 83% 180 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Gamergetik
Hardware Store & Workshop Simulator · EA $0.99 24 79% 720 $713 (exactly $713) Superwolf Game Studio

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