Do I ship it?

Games › Exploration › Exploration + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Exploration Time Management game?

Exploration + Time Management

Of 238 developers who shipped an Exploration 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.. 465 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×891 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 465 games are announced against 137 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 465 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Exploration + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 238
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $5.8k → $2.2k → $1.0k → $2.1k → $1.3k → $2.1k (still earning) → $480 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Exploration + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 238
Bottom 30% $390 (exactly $390)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,592)
Top 5% $423k (exactly $423,388)
Developers, 2 yr 238
Released games 526
Announced 465
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 35% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Exploration
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Exploration, Time Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Sandbox
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 365,147 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 8 in 10 of the 123 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 465 games are announced against 137 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Exploration with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair22 devs · median $8.1k · 26 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair31 devs · median $6.7k · 42 announced
  3. + SpaceshipsFair22 devs · median $3.5k · 28 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair122 devs · median $2.2k · 109 announced
  5. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 24 announced
  6. + WuxiaPoor odds12 devs · median $192k · 35 announced
  7. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds23 devs · median $82k · 61 announced
  8. + Martial ArtsPoor odds25 devs · median $69k · 90 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds146 devs · median $58k · 354 announced
  10. + MMORPGPoor odds24 devs · median $52k · 213 announced
  11. + FMVPoor odds45 devs · median $27k · 76 announced
  12. + FarmingPoor odds41 devs · median $24k · 58 announced

All 258 pairs on the Exploration page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M PEAK 2025 · $72M Content Warning 2024 · $17M The Alters 2025 · $16M The Bus 2026 · $9.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lethal Company · EA older $9.99 411,550 97% 12M $123M (exactly $123,341,535) Zeekerss
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
Content Warning older $7.99 72,444 93% 2.2M $17M (exactly $17,364,827) Zorro, Wilnyl, Philip, thePetHen, Skog
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
The Bus $39.99 7,831 73% 235k $9.4M (exactly $9,394,851) TML-Studios
Pacify older $4.99 32,921 86% 988k $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) Shawn Hitchcock
Gamble With Your Friends $7.99 18,883 89% 566k $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) TEAM GWYF
BOOK OF HOURS older $24.99 4,129 89% 124k $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) Weather Factory
School Days $14.99 6,023 77% 181k $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) 白雨工作室
Fishing: North Atlantic - Enhanced Edition older $34.99 2,535 76% 76k $2.7M (exactly $2,660,990) Misc Games
Matchmaking Inc. $8.99 5,773 87% 173k $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) Wave Games
Murky Divers $8.99 3,981 87% 119k $1.1M (exactly $1,073,676) Embers
Bloomtown: A Different Story $24.99 1,428 85% 43k $1.1M (exactly $1,070,572) Lazy Bear Games, Different Sense Games
Farmer's Dynasty 2 · EA $24.99 1,225 72% 37k $918k (exactly $918,382) UMEO Studios
Survival Log $10.99 2,709 82% 81k $893k (exactly $893,157) Midnight Workshop

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