Do I ship it?

Games › Time Management › Time Management + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Time Management game?

Time Management + Demons

Of 33 developers who shipped a Demon 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.. 34 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $800, ×1.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $120. Revenue is up 1500% on the market; 34 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 1500% on the market, 34 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Demons
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: $1.6k → $150 → $539 → $599 → $1.7k → $2.4k (still earning) → $43k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $799 (exactly $799)
Top 25% $3.2k (exactly $3,236)
Top 5% $98k (exactly $97,859)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 77
Announced 34
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.66

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 1500% on the market, supply 215% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Demons
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$6.66 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.66.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,280 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $800, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $97k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Pacify 2019 · $4.9M HellSlave II: Judgment of the Archon 2026 · $190k Gnomes Garden 2015 · $118k Siege of Dungeon 2023 · $100k Lazy Witch's Factory 2026 · EA · $98k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Pacify older $4.99 32,921 86% 988k $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) Shawn Hitchcock
HellSlave II: Judgment of the Archon $19.99 316 77% 9.5k $190k (exactly $189,505) Ars Goetia
Gnomes Garden older $14.99 262 87% 7.9k $118k (exactly $117,821) Workroom7, Creobit
Siege of Dungeon older $12.99 257 82% 7.7k $100k (exactly $100,153) Binary Tree Studio
Lazy Witch's Factory · EA $15.99 204 91% 6.1k $98k (exactly $97,859) MELTCLOCK.Inc
Angel Engine $7.99 303 80% 9.1k $73k (exactly $72,629) HMS Studios, Black Lantern Collective
LABYRINTHOS: The Depths Want You $24.99 57 84% 1.7k $43k (exactly $42,733) Astronauts
Creepy Shift: Roadside Diner $6.99 197 87% 5.9k $41k (exactly $41,311) Night Shift Team
LockYourDoor $8.99 143 87% 4.3k $39k (exactly $38,567) Penguin's Autumn
DEATHWATCH older $6.99 76 86% 2.3k $16k (exactly $15,937) GAME JUICE STUDIOS
Ritual Party · EA $11.99 28 89% 840 $10k (exactly $10,072) Hologram Monster
Hell Runner $14.99 10 100% 300 $4.5k (exactly $4,497) Moonlight Studio
Lightkeeper's Curse $8.99 12 100% 360 $3.2k (exactly $3,236) Shire Brew Studios
SOUL PARK $9.99 10 90% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) CLEDU

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