Games › Management › Management + Time Manipulation
Should I ship a Time Manipulation Management game?
Management + Time Manipulation
Of 25 developers who shipped a Time Manipulation 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.. 52 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×2771 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 52 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $478 (exactly $478) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,307) |
| Top 25% | $5.2k (exactly $5,211) |
| Top 5% | $1.7M (exactly $1,740,020) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 93 |
| Announced | 52 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Management
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Time Manipulation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Management, Time Manipulation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Economy, Simulation, Building
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 5,451 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
F1® Manager 2024 2024 · $5.8M 
Phantom Brigade 2023 · $4.0M 
Sovereign Tower 2026 · $1.9M 
Hotel Architect 2026 · $1.7M 
Metro Simulator 2 2023 · $303k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | F1® Manager 2024 | older | $34.99 | 5,554 83% | 167k | $5.8M (exactly $5,830,034) | Frontier Developments |
| | Phantom Brigade | older | $29.99 | 4,412 81% | 132k | $4.0M (exactly $3,969,476) | Brace Yourself Games |
| | Sovereign Tower | $19.99 | 3,087 93% | 93k | $1.9M (exactly $1,851,274) | WILD WITS GAMES | |
| | Hotel Architect | $29.99 | 1,934 94% | 58k | $1.7M (exactly $1,740,020) | Pathos Interactive | |
| | Metro Simulator 2 | older | $14.99 | 674 65% | 20k | $303k (exactly $303,098) | KishMish Games |
 | SeaOrama: World of Shipping | older | $19.99 | 382 58% | 11k | $229k (exactly $229,085) | Hidden Tower, SeaOrama |
 | Magic Research 2 | older | $5.99 | 610 92% | 18k | $110k (exactly $109,617) | Maticolotto |
 | Train World | older | $34.99 | 85 75% | 2.6k | $89k (exactly $89,224) | Turn Point Games |
 | Check Inn | $14.99 | 197 84% | 5.9k | $89k (exactly $88,591) | KishMish Games | |
 | Writer's Rush | older | $5.99 | 402 74% | 12k | $72k (exactly $72,239) | Frogstorm |
 | Oasis Mission: Colony Sim | $14.99 | 91 56% | 2.7k | $41k (exactly $40,923) | Lunar pug studio | |
 | Day Trade Coach | $14.99 | 17 47% | 510 | $7.6k (exactly $7,645) | Ragnar Beaucoup | |
 | Hot Springs | 温泉 (Onsen) | $3.99 | 51 74% | 1.5k | $6.1k (exactly $6,105) | Peach Party | |
 | Zoo Protocol | · EA | $5.99 | 29 93% | 870 | $5.2k (exactly $5,211) | WaveMood |
 | Macht: Cosmic Engine | · EA | $24.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $3.7k (exactly $3,748) | Kestro Games |
 | Arcade Empire Tycoon | $4.99 | 25 68% | 750 | $3.7k (exactly $3,742) | Mind Inside Games | |
 | Golden Rails: The heart of the state | $6.99 | 15 93% | 450 | $3.1k (exactly $3,146) | Alawar Casual |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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