Do I ship it?

GamesTime ManipulationTime Manipulation + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 380% on the market, 50 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.0k → $270 → $718 → $3.0k → $299 → $31k → $899 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
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.

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 Manipulation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Futuristic
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 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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $900, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Time Manipulation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + DemonsFair14 devs · median $2.7k · 9 announced
  2. + CapitalismFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 14 announced
  3. + ModernFair12 devs · median $987 · 9 announced
  4. + PsychologicalFair18 devs · median $897 · 17 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair10 devs · median $657 · 15 announced
  6. + RacingFair10 devs · median $599 · 12 announced
  7. + Precision PlatformerFair22 devs · median $598 · 20 announced
  8. + Choose Your Own AdventurePoor odds9 devs · median $13k · 24 announced
  9. + RobotsPoor odds12 devs · median $11k · 16 announced
  10. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds7 devs · median $6.7k · 22 announced
  11. + DetectivePoor odds16 devs · median $6.5k · 32 announced
  12. + NoirPoor odds9 devs · median $6.5k · 15 announced

All 103 pairs on the Time Manipulation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.