Do I ship it?

Games › Time Manipulation › Time Manipulation + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Manipulation Hidden Object?

Time Manipulation + Hidden Object

Of 24 developers who shipped a Time Manipulation Hidden Object 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.. 23 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. Revenue is down 55% on the market, with 23 games announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 23 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $836 → $299 → $599 → $987 → $299 → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,552)
Top 5% $7.6k (exactly $7,583)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 63
Announced 23
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 55% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.

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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
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

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, Hidden Object; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Point & Click
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 517 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.5k, 1 in 20 over $7.5k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Time Manipulation with a different second tag, 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

The Silent Age 2015 · $1.8M The Gardens Between 2018 · $1.4M 灵墟 2023 · $312k Time Lock VR 1 2017 · $259k Metel - Horror Escape 2020 · EA · $207k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Silent Age older $9.99 5,966 93% 179k $1.8M (exactly $1,788,010) House On Fire
The Gardens Between older $19.99 2,362 93% 71k $1.4M (exactly $1,416,491) The Voxel Agents
灵墟 older $10.99 946 86% 28k $312k (exactly $311,896) HappyTall Game
Time Lock VR 1 older $12.99 665 78% 20k $259k (exactly $259,150) WR-VRG
Metel - Horror Escape · EA older $2.99 2,304 93% 69k $207k (exactly $206,669) Linked Squad
Time Lock VR 2 older $12.99 170 88% 5.1k $66k (exactly $66,249) WR-VRG
Inua - A Story in Ice and Time older $14.99 81 93% 2.4k $36k (exactly $36,426) The Pixel Hunt, IKO, ARTE France
Paragnosia $3.99 228 92% 6.8k $27k (exactly $27,292) Sine Coda
Paragnosia: Museum $5.99 139 87% 4.2k $25k (exactly $24,978) Sine Coda
Chernobyl Again older $19.99 39 61% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Vimagineo Sp. z o.o.
Clockwork Rabbit $10.99 23 100% 690 $7.6k (exactly $7,583) OnionMilk
Hidden Memories of The Gardens Between $19.99 10 90% 300 $6.0k (exactly $5,997) The Voxel Agents
No.13813 $5.99 17 88% 510 $3.1k (exactly $3,055) Typebits
The Office Void $1.49 53 86% 1.6k $2.4k (exactly $2,369) Coldheart Entertainment
Cats And The Timeline $1.99 26 92% 780 $1.6k (exactly $1,552) To-Fu Cat
Anaria $2.99 11 54% 330 $987 (exactly $987) VOIDEMBER
The Enigma Lounge $3.99 6 100% 180 $718 (exactly $718) Seedborne
Vigaro Runner 2: Return $4.99 4 100% 120 $599 (exactly $599) DIG Games

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