Do I ship it?

Games › Time Management › Time Management + Detective

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Detective Time Management game?

Time Management + Detective

Of 37 developers who shipped a Detective 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.. 68 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360, ×0.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×431 the market median. Revenue is up 615% on the market; 68 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 615% on the market, 68 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Detective
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.9k → $359 → $120 → $2.4k → $210 → $1.8k (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Detective: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $3.2k (exactly $3,236)
Top 5% $205k (exactly $204,614)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 83
Announced 68
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 up 615% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Detective
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Point & Click
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,847 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $360, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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

Accident 2021 · $657k Midnight Sin 2026 · $232k Hotel Tales 2026 · $205k Mindcop 2024 · $186k Rina's Undercover Train Operation 2026 · $120k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Accident older $14.99 1,462 76% 44k $657k (exactly $657,461) Duality Games, Spirit Games Studio
Midnight Sin $19.99 387 82% 12k $232k (exactly $232,084) Faerin Games
Hotel Tales $14.99 455 80% 14k $205k (exactly $204,614) TopHouse Studio
Mindcop $14.99 413 94% 12k $186k (exactly $185,726) Andre Gareis
Rina's Undercover Train Operation $13.99 286 70% 8.6k $120k (exactly $120,034) Metamorphose
SCP Strategy older $6.99 556 78% 17k $117k (exactly $116,593) LUXO Interactive
Inescapable: No Rules, No Rescue older $49.99 61 40% 1.8k $91k (exactly $91,482) Dreamloop Games
Carmen Sandiego $29.99 86 67% 2.6k $77k (exactly $77,374) Gameloft
Detective Jackie - Mystic Case older $15.99 121 95% 3.6k $58k (exactly $58,044) Old Skull Games, GameHouse
Orten Was The Case older $14.99 125 94% 3.8k $56k (exactly $56,212) Woodhill Interactive
Police Officer $11.99 125 65% 3.8k $45k (exactly $44,962) Turquoise Games
Dragon Maiden: Blossoms of the Past $6.99 35 57% 1.1k $7.3k (exactly $7,340) 不兼容性工作室
Forgotten 23 $12.99 14 92% 420 $5.5k (exactly $5,456) KovalGames
Is Guilty $4.99 34 97% 1.0k $5.1k (exactly $5,090) KeeraGames
Trailmarks $8.99 12 91% 360 $3.2k (exactly $3,236) Trailmarks HQ

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