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Should I ship a Time Manipulation Investigation game?
Time Manipulation + Investigation
Only 15 developers shipped a Time Manipulation Investigation 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, The Drifter, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 35 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $2.8M, ×5978 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 35 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $450 (exactly $450) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) |
| Top 25% | $8.9k (exactly $8,902) |
| Top 5% | $2.8M (exactly $2,839,580) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 15 |
| Released games | 49 |
| Announced | 35 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 80% on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Time Manipulation, Investigation
- Price point
- $8.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 97% positive over 6,127 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Time Manipulation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DemonsFair
- + CapitalismFair
- + ModernFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + RacingFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Choose Your Own AdventurePoor odds
- + RobotsPoor odds
- + Post-apocalypticPoor odds
- + DetectivePoor odds
- + NoirPoor odds
Comparable games
Nobody Wants to Die 2024 · $4.4M 
The Drifter 2025 · $2.8M 
The Sexy Brutale 2017 · $1.7M 
A Guidebook of Babel 2023 · $394k 
Lucifer Within Us 2020 · $381k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Nobody Wants to Die | older | $24.99 | 5,818 83% | 175k | $4.4M (exactly $4,361,755) | Critical Hit Games |
| | The Drifter | $19.99 | 4,735 97% | 142k | $2.8M (exactly $2,839,580) | Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd | |
| | The Sexy Brutale | older | $19.99 | 2,895 91% | 87k | $1.7M (exactly $1,736,131) | Cavalier Game Studios, Tequila Works |
| | A Guidebook of Babel | older | $14.99 | 877 92% | 26k | $394k (exactly $394,387) | StarryStarry |
| | Lucifer Within Us | older | $19.99 | 635 73% | 19k | $381k (exactly $380,809) | Kitfox Games |
 | The Posthumous Investigation | $19.99 | 554 94% | 17k | $332k (exactly $332,234) | Mother Gaia Studio | |
 | Dinocop | $14.99 | 737 96% | 22k | $331k (exactly $331,429) | Pieces Games | |
 | Eternal Threads | older | $19.99 | 543 87% | 16k | $326k (exactly $325,637) | Cosmonaut Studios |
 | Metel - Horror Escape | · EA older | $2.99 | 2,304 93% | 69k | $207k (exactly $206,669) | Linked Squad |
 | Elsinore | older | $9.99 | 345 95% | 10k | $103k (exactly $103,396) | Golden Glitch |
 | Escape Everlit | $10.99 | 27 100% | 810 | $8.9k (exactly $8,902) | lantao studio | |
 | Who Summoned It? | $9.99 | 29 96% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | Crooked Foot | |
 | Mysteries of Perception | $8.99 | 24 87% | 720 | $6.5k (exactly $6,473) | 50 Rats Games | |
 | Detective Malinowski The Truth Will Be Revealed | $9.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $2.4k (exactly $2,398) | Game The Same | |
 | The Archive | $7.99 | 6 66% | 180 | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) | WILD Studios | |
 | Echo Resonance | $8.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) | AZOR7 | |
 | Cursed Hospital | $5.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $539 (exactly $539) | KaashFusionStudio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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