Do I ship it?

GamesIncrementalIncremental + Time Travel

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time-Travel Incremental game?

Incremental + Time Travel

Only 17 developers shipped a Time-Travel 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, Carpet Cleaning Simulator, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×4.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $630. Revenue is up 1135% on the market; 15 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 1135% on the market, 15 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Incremental + Time Travel
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Incremental + Time Travel: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,063)
Top 25% $7.6k (exactly $7,635)
Top 5% $107k (exactly $106,528)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 32
Announced 15
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 1135% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
Time Travel
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
Incremental; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Point & Click, Adventure, Puzzle
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,164 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $7.6k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds15 devs · median $11k · 12 announced
  2. + OtomeStrong odds12 devs · median $7.0k · 11 announced
  3. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $6.1k · 15 announced
  4. + FarmingFair21 devs · median $5.9k · 23 announced
  5. + Dynamic NarrationFair19 devs · median $4.0k · 14 announced
  6. + MiningFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  7. + Souls-likeFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair15 devs · median $3.5k · 20 announced
  9. + Dating SimFair140 devs · median $3.1k · 136 announced
  10. + UndergroundFair27 devs · median $3.0k · 35 announced
  11. + LootFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  12. + SupernaturalFair33 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced

All 188 pairs on the Incremental page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Doors: Paradox older $14.99 1,579 91% 47k $710k (exactly $710,076) Big Loop Studios
Time Warpers older $19.99 493 82% 15k $296k (exactly $295,652) Proton Studio Inc
Contract With The Devil older $14.99 243 71% 7.3k $109k (exactly $109,277) AZ-Art Development Studio
Carpet Cleaning Simulator $6.99 508 87% 15k $107k (exactly $106,528) daimaGAME
The House of Da Vinci VR $24.99 126 93% 3.8k $94k (exactly $94,462) Blue Brain Games
Mosaic of the Strange $12.99 226 92% 6.8k $88k (exactly $88,072) Mark Ffrench
Time Guard - The Red Menace $11.99 40 97% 1.2k $14k (exactly $14,388) Zima software
Mushroom Age older $6.99 63 98% 1.9k $13k (exactly $13,211) Nevosoft
Idle Superpowers older $6.99 61 77% 1.8k $13k (exactly $12,792) Lutsgames
Tale of Immortal Ring $4.99 51 66% 1.5k $7.6k (exactly $7,635) Solo Gaming
Loopbound · EA $5.50 36 72% 1.1k $5.9k (exactly $5,940) Escheria
Code Tycoon $9.99 15 80% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Mennen Games
MEME EXAM 2025 $0.99 130 90% 3.9k $3.9k (exactly $3,861) Piece Of Voxel, Gamesforfarm
人类终结之日——2074 $2.99 23 86% 690 $2.1k (exactly $2,063) Cycle Game Studio
Planet Keeper Program $5.99 9 100% 270 $1.6k (exactly $1,617) Robo-Human Studios

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