Games › Time Management › Time Management + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Time Management game?
Time Management + Dark Fantasy
Of 42 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy 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.. 54 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×9.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $18M, ×29918 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 54 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.7k (exactly $5,662) |
| Top 25% | $147k (exactly $146,716) |
| Top 5% | $19M (exactly $18,788,232) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 87 |
| Announced | 54 |
| 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 100% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 23%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Dark Fantasy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 77,881 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Time Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dungeon CrawlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + AgricultureFair
- + Time TravelFair
- + ZombiesFair
- + LootFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + ThrillerFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
Comparable games
Metaphor: ReFantazio 2024 · $53M 
The Blood of Dawnwalker 2026 · $33M 
Sultan's Game 2025 · $19M 
Loop Hero 2021 · $15M 
The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Metaphor: ReFantazio | $69.99 | 25,224 89% | 757k | $53M (exactly $52,962,833) | ATLUS | |
| | The Blood of Dawnwalker | $69.99 | 15,789 86% | 474k | $33M (exactly $33,152,163) | Rebel Wolves | |
| | Sultan's Game | $24.99 | 25,061 93% | 752k | $19M (exactly $18,788,232) | Double Cross | |
| | Loop Hero | older | $14.99 | 33,816 92% | 1.0M | $15M (exactly $15,207,055) | Four Quarters |
| | The King is Watching | $14.99 | 9,006 88% | 270k | $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) | Hypnohead | |
 | Corruption Town | · EA | $14.99 | 992 88% | 30k | $446k (exactly $446,102) | BoredBasmati |
 | Ark of Charon | $24.99 | 389 75% | 12k | $292k (exactly $291,633) | Angoo Inc., SUNSOFT | |
 | Stuck In Time | older | $7.99 | 1,018 84% | 31k | $244k (exactly $244,015) | Housemade Inc. |
 | Hotel Tales | $14.99 | 455 80% | 14k | $205k (exactly $204,614) | TopHouse Studio | |
 | HellSlave II: Judgment of the Archon | $19.99 | 316 77% | 9.5k | $190k (exactly $189,505) | Ars Goetia | |
 | Star Knightess Aura | $24.99 | 211 86% | 6.3k | $158k (exactly $158,187) | AuraGamedev | |
 | CiniCross | $11.99 | 438 85% | 13k | $158k (exactly $157,549) | Hydrobates |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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