Do I ship it?

Games › Time Management › Time Management + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Time Management game?

Time Management + Dystopian

Of 30 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 88 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×2.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×614 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 88 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 60% on the market, 88 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $56k → $1.2k → $1.1k → $898 (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,134)
Top 25% $5.8k (exactly $5,753)
Top 5% $292k (exactly $291,633)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 76
Announced 88
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 60% on the market, supply 230% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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
Dystopian
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 Simulation, Management, Economy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark Humor, Story Rich, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,613 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $5.7k, 1 in 20 over $290k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 6 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 88 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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

Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M Happy's Humble Burger Farm 2021 · $1.0M Mind Scanners 2021 · $558k For the People 2020 · $372k FACEMINER 2025 · $364k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
Happy's Humble Burger Farm older $19.99 1,704 93% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,021,889) Scythe Dev Team
Mind Scanners older $16.99 1,095 78% 33k $558k (exactly $558,122) The Outer Zone
For the People older $16.99 729 73% 22k $372k (exactly $371,571) Brezg Studio
FACEMINER $7.99 1,517 90% 46k $364k (exactly $363,625) Wristwork
Ark of Charon $24.99 389 75% 12k $292k (exactly $291,633) Angoo Inc., SUNSOFT
Not Tonight 2 older $19.99 465 76% 14k $279k (exactly $278,860) PanicBarn
Homeseek older $24.99 190 62% 5.7k $142k (exactly $142,443) Traptics
Teller's Duty $11.99 388 72% 12k $140k (exactly $139,564) Hiscory
Orten Was The Case older $14.99 125 94% 3.8k $56k (exactly $56,212) Woodhill Interactive
Legitimate Space Corp Simulator LLC $12.99 82 69% 2.5k $32k (exactly $31,955) VHornet Games
Something to Drink? $9.99 84 98% 2.5k $25k (exactly $25,175) Adam's Games
OK Boomer · EA $7.99 70 77% 2.1k $17k (exactly $16,779) Pugsy Studios
The State of Nowhere $19.99 26 88% 780 $16k (exactly $15,592) Anomaly Works
Dystopicon $7.99 24 87% 720 $5.8k (exactly $5,753) Palitroque
Backrooms Union · EA $9.99 16 75% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Sushi Studio
Hi! These Are Your Eyeballs $4.99 17 52% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) WolfgangIs

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