Games › Time Manipulation › Time Manipulation + Futuristic
Should I ship a Futuristic Time Manipulation game?
Time Manipulation + Futuristic
Of 32 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×470 the market median. Revenue is up 380% on the market; 50 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $19,424) |
| Top 5% | $223k (exactly $223,455) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 93 |
| Announced | 50 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 380% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Time Manipulation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Futuristic
- 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
- Time Manipulation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $20.00 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Colorful, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $20.00 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 1,668 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Time Manipulation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DemonsFair
- + CapitalismFair
- + ModernFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + RacingFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Choose Your Own AdventurePoor odds
- + RobotsPoor odds
- + Post-apocalypticPoor odds
- + DetectivePoor odds
- + NoirPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Entropy Centre | older | $19.99 | 3,359 89% | 101k | $2.0M (exactly $2,014,392) | Stubby Games |
| | Wanderer | older | $39.99 | 824 83% | 25k | $989k (exactly $988,553) | Mighty Eyes |
| | TimeShift™ | older | $19.99 | 1,131 80% | 34k | $678k (exactly $678,261) | Saber Interactive |
| | Deadeye Deepfake Simulacrum | $12.99 | 839 98% | 25k | $327k (exactly $326,958) | nodayshalleraseyou | |
| | Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate | $49.99 | 149 62% | 4.5k | $223k (exactly $223,455) | Mighty Eyes | |
| | Advent NEON® | $19.99 | 300 98% | 9.0k | $180k (exactly $179,910) | CryoGX | |
| | Sine Mora EX | older | $9.99 | 463 66% | 14k | $139k (exactly $138,761) | Digital Reality, Grasshopper Manufactur… (Digital Reality, Grasshopper Manufacture, Gyroscope Games) |
| | COGEN: Sword of Rewind / COGEN: 大鳥こはくと刻の剣 | older | $24.99 | 112 67% | 3.4k | $84k (exactly $83,966) | Gemdrops, Inc. |
| | XEL | older | $14.99 | 143 48% | 4.3k | $64k (exactly $64,307) | Tiny Roar |
| | District Steel | · EA older | $24.99 | 76 93% | 2.3k | $57k (exactly $56,977) | Barricade Studio |
| | Oasis Mission: Colony Sim | $14.99 | 91 56% | 2.7k | $41k (exactly $40,923) | Lunar pug studio | |
| | Toroban | $20.00 | 60 86% | 1.8k | $36k (exactly $36,000) | Hebert Games LLC | |
| | Orbyss | $14.99 | 68 95% | 2.0k | $31k (exactly $30,580) | Misty Whale | |
| | Causal Loop | $19.99 | 49 91% | 1.5k | $29k (exactly $29,385) | Mirebound Interactive | |
| | A Better World | $11.99 | 54 64% | 1.6k | $19k (exactly $19,424) | Ludogram, ARTE France | |
| | Temporal Titans | · EA | $9.99 | 44 95% | 1.3k | $13k (exactly $13,187) | Lost Tower Games |
| | Forgotten 23 | $12.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $5.5k (exactly $5,456) | KovalGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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