Do I ship it?

Games › Time Management › Time Management + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Time Management game?

Time Management + Capitalism

Of 186 developers who shipped a Capitalist 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.. 301 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×5.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×764 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 301 games are announced against 131 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 301 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 186
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.7k → $22k → $4.8k → $6.1k → $24k → $8.4k → $2.1k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 186
Bottom 30% $390 (exactly $390)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,740)
Top 5% $363k (exactly $362,818)
Developers, 2 yr 186
Released games 376
Announced 301
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 60% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Capitalism
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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 Management; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Management
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 32,672 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 6 in 10 of the 73 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 301 games are announced against 131 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Time Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dungeon CrawlerFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair15 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  3. + Inventory ManagementFair181 devs · median $2.9k · 228 announced
  4. + AgricultureFair57 devs · median $2.3k · 73 announced
  5. + Time TravelFair17 devs · median $2.2k · 19 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair27 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  7. + LootFair34 devs · median $1.5k · 47 announced
  8. + Turn-Based TacticsFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  9. + AutomationFair162 devs · median $1.2k · 191 announced
  10. + Bullet HellFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  11. + ThrillerFair42 devs · median $1.1k · 65 announced
  12. + Artificial IntelligenceFair53 devs · median $1.0k · 65 announced

All 179 pairs on the Time Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Big Ambitions 2026 · $11M Parkitect 2018 · $6.1M Touhou Mystia's Izakaya 2021 · $5.3M Potionomics 2022 · $5.2M Software Inc. 2015 · EA · $5.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Big Ambitions $25.99 14,003 92% 420k $11M (exactly $10,918,139) Hovgaard Games
Parkitect older $29.99 6,809 94% 204k $6.1M (exactly $6,126,057) Texel Raptor
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya older $5.99 29,517 98% 886k $5.3M (exactly $5,304,205) 二色幽紫蝶, Re零同人社
Potionomics older $24.99 6,973 90% 209k $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) Voracious Games
Software Inc. · EA older $22.99 7,576 94% 227k $5.2M (exactly $5,225,167) Coredumping
Turmoil older $12.99 13,154 92% 395k $5.1M (exactly $5,126,114) Gamious
News Tower $24.99 4,316 94% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,235,705) Sparrow Night
小白兔电商~Bunny e-Shop older $10.99 9,176 93% 275k $3.0M (exactly $3,025,327) 落叶岛项目组, 橘子班
Esports Manager 2026 $19.99 3,860 73% 116k $2.3M (exactly $2,314,842) Neurona Games
City Bus Manager older $29.99 2,405 90% 72k $2.2M (exactly $2,163,778) PeDePe GbR
Recycling Center Simulator $19.99 2,594 84% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,555,622) Balas Games
Discounty $19.99 2,322 82% 70k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,503) Crinkle Cut Games
Football Life Simulator · EA $19.99 1,567 68% 47k $940k (exactly $939,730) Ludu Arts
Coal LLC $14.99 1,343 92% 40k $604k (exactly $603,947) Bye Bye Ocean
Movies Tycoon $29.99 545 70% 16k $490k (exactly $490,336) PixelCraze s.r.o.
FACEMINER $7.99 1,517 90% 46k $364k (exactly $363,625) Wristwork
Farm Manager World $19.99 605 68% 18k $363k (exactly $362,818) Cleversan Games

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