Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Time Travel

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time-Travel Combat game?

Combat + Time Travel

Of 33 developers who shipped a Time-Travel Combat 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.. 75 more are announced, ×6.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $3.8M, ×6127 the market median. Revenue is up 620% on the market; 75 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 620% on the market, 75 announced, ×6.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Time Travel
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $57k → $2.2k → $4.7k → $1.5k → $4.0k → $5.4k (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Time Travel: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Top 5% $3.8M (exactly $3,847,759)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 66
Announced 75
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.00

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 620% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Time Travel
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
Combat; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$7.00 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.00.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 13,293 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $3.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Titanfall® 2 2020 · $229M BioShock Infinite 2013 · $99M Cronos: The New Dawn 2025 · $14M DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined 2026 · $3.8M Enigma of Fear 2024 · $2.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Titanfall® 2 older $29.99 255,050 95% 7.7M $229M (exactly $229,468,485) Respawn Entertainment
BioShock Infinite older $29.99 109,718 93% 3.3M $99M (exactly $98,713,285) Irrational Games, Virtual Programming (… (Irrational Games, Virtual Programming (Linux))
Cronos: The New Dawn $59.99 7,753 87% 233k $14M (exactly $13,953,074) Bloober Team
DRAGON QUEST VII Reimagined $59.99 2,138 88% 64k $3.8M (exactly $3,847,759) Square Enix, HEXADRIVE Inc.
Enigma of Fear $29.99 3,045 95% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) Dumativa, Cellbit
Chop Goblins older $4.99 2,881 97% 86k $431k (exactly $431,286) David Szymanski
Return to abyss 重返深渊 older $4.99 949 79% 28k $142k (exactly $142,065) Wingjoy Games
Mist Slayer older $7.99 305 64% 9.2k $73k (exactly $73,108) Moju Games
XEL older $14.99 143 48% 4.3k $64k (exactly $64,307) Tiny Roar
PROJECT TACHYON $17.99 117 83% 3.5k $63k (exactly $63,145) STUDIO N9
Temple of the Green Moon $14.99 94 75% 2.8k $42k (exactly $42,272) OLKON GAMES
Mai: Child of Ages $14.99 34 88% 1.0k $15k (exactly $15,290) Chubby Pixel
Reality Rash $17.99 18 83% 540 $9.7k (exactly $9,715) Give your jumps
Temporal Purge: Z $4.99 56 85% 1.7k $8.4k (exactly $8,383) Exec Games
Bleeding Deities $9.99 20 75% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Duty Over
Panta Rhei - Guardian of Time $9.99 18 94% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Sappalot Studio, Omme Animation, Nordic… (Sappalot Studio, Omme Animation, Nordic Scoring)

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