Do I ship it?

GamesTime ManipulationTime Manipulation + Incremental

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Manipulation Incremental game?

Time Manipulation + Incremental

Only 14 developers shipped a Time Manipulation Incremental game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Bauhaus Bonk, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $420, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $17k, ×37 the market median. Revenue is up 155% on the market; 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 155% on the market, 20 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Incremental
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.5k → $539 → $178 → $299 → $599 (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Incremental: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $419 (exactly $419)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,256)
Top 5% $17k (exactly $17,498)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 55
Announced 20
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 up 155% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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
Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables

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, Incremental
Price point
$3.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 166 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $420, 1 in 4 over $1.2k, 1 in 20 over $17k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Magic Research 2 older $5.99 610 92% 18k $110k (exactly $109,617) Maticolotto
Magic Research older $4.99 410 90% 12k $61k (exactly $61,377) Maticolotto
Magic Potion Explorer older $9.99 95 55% 2.9k $28k (exactly $28,472) ARTIFACTS
Score a goal (Physical football) older $2.99 247 66% 7.4k $22k (exactly $22,156) BulatHard
Poop Clicker older $0.99 725 76% 22k $22k (exactly $21,532) Serge Kornew
Bauhaus Bonk $7.99 73 100% 2.2k $17k (exactly $17,498) Spoonful Games
Score a goal 2 (Physical football) older $2.99 109 71% 3.3k $9.8k (exactly $9,777) BulatHard
Animals Memory: Cats older $3.99 78 84% 2.3k $9.3k (exactly $9,337) Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
Claire's Cruisin' Cafe older $6.99 39 87% 1.2k $8.2k (exactly $8,178) Alawar Casual
Claire's Cruisin' Cafe: High Seas Cuisine older $6.99 32 87% 960 $6.7k (exactly $6,710) Alawar Casual
Zoo Protocol · EA $5.99 29 93% 870 $5.2k (exactly $5,211) WaveMood
Ghostify $3.99 27 81% 810 $3.2k (exactly $3,232) LightTriadGames
Depths of Providence $2.99 14 100% 420 $1.3k (exactly $1,256) Ryan Lutz
Duty Free Shop Simulator · EA $4.99 4 25% 120 $599 (exactly $599) CLOWN MAGIC
Infinite Idle: Online Clicker RPG $1.99 8 37% 240 $478 (exactly $478) Comar Studios
Back to Modern World - Fantasy Hero $6.99 2 50% 60 $419 (exactly $419) S Xavier Uy
Ivan $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Henry Scheuller
It Takes One Year To Beat This Game $0.99 6 33% 180 $178 (exactly $178) Haha Games
Mini-Map $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) TokAyı Games

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