Do I ship it?

Games › Time Management › Time Management + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Time Management game?

Time Management + Idler

Of 213 developers who shipped an Idler Time Management 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.. 206 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $800, ×1.7 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×321 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 206 games are announced against 142 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 206 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 213
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $772 → $2.7k → $1.9k → $2.2k → $1.2k → $756 (still earning) → $208 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 213
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $799 (exactly $799)
Top 25% $5.9k (exactly $5,940)
Top 5% $152k (exactly $152,380)
Developers, 2 yr 213
Released games 399
Announced 206
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 35% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Time Management, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Incremental, Management
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 14,519 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $800, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 88 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 206 games are announced against 142 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Time Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dungeon CrawlerFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair15 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  3. + Inventory ManagementFair181 devs · median $2.9k · 228 announced
  4. + AgricultureFair57 devs · median $2.3k · 73 announced
  5. + Time TravelFair17 devs · median $2.2k · 19 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair27 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  7. + LootFair34 devs · median $1.5k · 47 announced
  8. + Turn-Based TacticsFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  9. + AutomationFair162 devs · median $1.2k · 191 announced
  10. + Bullet HellFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  11. + ThrillerFair42 devs · median $1.1k · 65 announced
  12. + Artificial IntelligenceFair53 devs · median $1.0k · 65 announced

All 179 pairs on the Time Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Farm Together 2 2025 · $3.5M Retirement Simulator 2022 · EA · $1.6M Fly Corp 2023 · $1.4M Farm Manager 2021 2021 · $1.4M Birdwatching Notebook 2026 · $476k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Farm Together 2 $25.99 4,456 93% 134k $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) Milkstone Studios
Retirement Simulator · EA older $13.99 3,757 34% 113k $1.6M (exactly $1,576,813) DoubleThink Studio
Fly Corp older $14.99 3,112 85% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,399,466) KishMish Games
Farm Manager 2021 older $19.99 2,296 79% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,376,911) Cleversan Games
Birdwatching Notebook $9.99 1,588 97% 48k $476k (exactly $475,924) Biekka Games
xiuzhen idle $5.99 2,313 79% 69k $416k (exactly $415,646) 游戏养家工作室
FACEMINER $7.99 1,517 90% 46k $364k (exactly $363,625) Wristwork
Burgie's Cozy Kitchen · EA $6.99 1,470 96% 44k $308k (exactly $308,259) HeyNau
Inn Tycoon $11.99 727 76% 22k $262k (exactly $261,502) Evil Goose Games
Isekai Sex Boutique $10.99 746 88% 22k $246k (exactly $245,956) PEROCO WORKS
Asbury Pines · EA $12.99 558 90% 17k $217k (exactly $217,453) Chaystar Unlimited LLC
Craftlings $19.99 311 86% 9.3k $187k (exactly $186,507) ARIANO Games GmbH
Fantasy Aquarium $6.99 833 79% 25k $175k (exactly $174,680) MOON SCAPE

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