Do I ship it?

GamesGrand StrategyGrand Strategy + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Grand Strategy?

Grand Strategy + Time Management

Of 33 developers who shipped a Time Management Grand Strategy 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.. 62 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $780, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 62 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper, while revenue is down 60% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 62 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grand Strategy + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $7.9k → $9.0k → $150 → $779 (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grand Strategy + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $779 (exactly $779)
Top 25% $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 5% $37k (exactly $36,937)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 85
Announced 62
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 60% on the market, supply 55% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Grand Strategy
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Grand Strategy, Time Management; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Management, Simulation
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 443 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 $780, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $36k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RoguelikeFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  2. + SportsFair21 devs · median $2.1k · 26 announced
  3. + RogueliteFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  4. + CrimeFair8 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + RacingFair8 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 27 announced
  7. + Artificial IntelligenceLong shot21 devs · median $750 · 38 announced
  8. + TabletopLong shot26 devs · median $450 · 26 announced
  9. + Turn-BasedPoor odds19 devs · median $131k · 20 announced
  10. + SandboxPoor odds59 devs · median $51k · 125 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds15 devs · median $37k · 29 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds54 devs · median $34k · 117 announced

All 104 pairs on the Grand Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
City Bus Manager older $29.99 2,405 90% 72k $2.2M (exactly $2,163,778) PeDePe GbR
Dummynation older $11.99 3,127 88% 94k $1.1M (exactly $1,124,782) Alejandro Hernández Ferrero
Computer Tycoon · EA older $19.99 916 84% 27k $549k (exactly $549,325) Progorion
Supermarket & Internet Cafe Simulator older $14.99 847 79% 25k $381k (exactly $380,896) SmartPlayGames
Transport INC older $11.99 1,014 69% 30k $365k (exactly $364,736) DIGIFOX
SeaOrama: World of Shipping older $19.99 382 58% 11k $229k (exactly $229,085) Hidden Tower, SeaOrama
Palais de Reine older $29.99 123 86% 3.7k $111k (exactly $110,663) KOGADO STUDIO
Royal Defense older $14.99 246 70% 7.4k $111k (exactly $110,626) Good Games, Creobit
Timemelters older $19.99 152 92% 4.6k $91k (exactly $91,154) Autoexec Games
Tennis Manager 25 $19.99 76 68% 2.3k $46k (exactly $45,577) Rebound
ATC Ground Point $15.99 77 81% 2.3k $37k (exactly $36,937) Blueon
Riftborne · EA $7.99 108 91% 3.2k $26k (exactly $25,888) Pitio Productions
Airline Ops · EA $14.99 37 29% 1.1k $17k (exactly $16,639) Smoky Bay Studio
Post-Apo Builder $9.99 54 37% 1.6k $16k (exactly $16,184) Septarian Games
Hardware Tycoon $11.99 30 63% 900 $11k (exactly $10,791) NordCode
Legacy of Sin: Ill-Boding $12.99 23 69% 690 $9.0k (exactly $8,963) Absolute Power Game Studio
Pro Football · EA $11.99 22 100% 660 $7.9k (exactly $7,913) Dayra Studio
No Greater Glory: The American Civil War $9.99 11 72% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Space Time Simulations
Central Bank $18.99 5 0% 150 $2.8k (exactly $2,848) Nabiulina software, Jerome Powerr studi… (Nabiulina software, Jerome Powerr studio, Rusalka Unreal Labs)

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