Games › Exploration › Exploration + Time Manipulation
Should I ship an Exploration Time Manipulation game?
Exploration + Time Manipulation
Of 66 developers who shipped an Exploration Time Manipulation 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.. 145 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×480 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 145 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,948) |
| Top 25% | $8.9k (exactly $8,902) |
| Top 5% | $228k (exactly $227,836) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 66 |
| Released games | 225 |
| Announced | 145 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.79 |
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 flat on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
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 Manipulation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration, Time Manipulation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Action
- Price point
- $7.79 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.79.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 3,838 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 145 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
Touhou Luna Nights 2019 · $7.4M 
Twelve Minutes 2021 · $5.6M 
The Entropy Centre 2022 · $2.0M 
The Silent Age 2015 · $1.8M 
Timespinner 2018 · $1.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Touhou Luna Nights | older | $17.99 | 13,776 97% | 413k | $7.4M (exactly $7,434,907) | Team Ladybug, WSS playground |
| | Twelve Minutes | older | $24.99 | 7,408 73% | 222k | $5.6M (exactly $5,553,778) | Luis Antonio |
| | The Entropy Centre | older | $19.99 | 3,359 89% | 101k | $2.0M (exactly $2,014,392) | Stubby Games |
| | The Silent Age | older | $9.99 | 5,966 93% | 179k | $1.8M (exactly $1,788,010) | House On Fire |
| | Timespinner | older | $19.99 | 2,823 86% | 85k | $1.7M (exactly $1,692,953) | Lunar Ray Games |
 | Arise: A Simple Story | older | $19.99 | 2,723 91% | 82k | $1.6M (exactly $1,632,983) | Piccolo Studio |
 | Wanderer | older | $39.99 | 824 83% | 25k | $989k (exactly $988,553) | Mighty Eyes |
 | CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story™ | older | $29.99 | 1,048 87% | 31k | $943k (exactly $942,886) | Double Stallion |
 | NUTS | older | $24.99 | 884 88% | 27k | $663k (exactly $662,735) | Joon, Pol, Muutsch, Char & Torfi |
 | Homebody | older | $19.99 | 632 93% | 19k | $379k (exactly $379,010) | Game Grumps |
 | Million Depth | $16.99 | 673 93% | 20k | $343k (exactly $343,028) | Cyber Space Biotope | |
 | The Posthumous Investigation | $19.99 | 554 94% | 17k | $332k (exactly $332,234) | Mother Gaia Studio | |
 | Dinocop | $14.99 | 737 96% | 22k | $331k (exactly $331,429) | Pieces Games | |
 | Kill The Shadow | $16.99 | 447 86% | 13k | $228k (exactly $227,836) | Shadowlight | |
 | Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate | $49.99 | 149 62% | 4.5k | $223k (exactly $223,455) | Mighty Eyes | |
 | MotionRec | $9.99 | 430 99% | 13k | $129k (exactly $128,871) | HANDSUM | |
 | Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo: Closure Edition | $19.99 | 164 99% | 4.9k | $98k (exactly $98,351) | Galla | |
 | Retrace the Light | $17.99 | 170 85% | 5.1k | $92k (exactly $91,749) | Xiaming Game | |
 | UnLoop | · EA | $17.99 | 163 98% | 4.9k | $88k (exactly $87,971) | Superposition NULL |
 | Super Drift Blade | $6.99 | 351 94% | 11k | $74k (exactly $73,605) | Liujiajun |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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