Do I ship it?

GamesTime ManagementTime Management + Modern

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Modern-Day Time Management game?

Time Management + Modern

Of 87 developers who shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 118 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×9.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×390 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 118 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 118 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Modern
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 87
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.3k → $6.3k → $3.0k → $6.1k → $1.3k → $4.8k → $4.5k (still earning) → $11k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Modern: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 87
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $4.5k (exactly $4,496)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $22,485)
Top 5% $185k (exactly $185,176)
Developers, 2 yr 87
Released games 162
Announced 118
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 170% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Modern
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
Time Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 19,717 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 118 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Time Management with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Big Ambitions $25.99 14,003 92% 420k $11M (exactly $10,918,139) Hovgaard Games
112 Operator older $24.99 5,688 88% 171k $4.3M (exactly $4,264,294) Jutsu Games
Retirement Simulator · EA older $13.99 3,757 34% 113k $1.6M (exactly $1,576,813) DoubleThink Studio
Farmer's Dynasty 2 · EA $24.99 1,225 72% 37k $918k (exactly $918,382) UMEO Studios
Green Hell VR older $19.99 1,143 57% 34k $685k (exactly $685,457) Incuvo
Sex, Secrets & Used Tech $16.99 1,291 85% 39k $658k (exactly $658,023) WorkNite Games, 78Games
Stardom 3 older $12.99 1,600 94% 48k $624k (exactly $623,520) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
Supermarket & Internet Cafe Simulator older $14.99 847 79% 25k $381k (exactly $380,896) SmartPlayGames
Transport INC older $11.99 1,014 69% 30k $365k (exactly $364,736) DIGIFOX
Brewpub Simulator older $17.99 521 56% 16k $281k (exactly $281,184) Star Drifters
Breaker of fatalism $10.99 613 88% 18k $202k (exactly $202,106) showplay entertainment
Copa City: Matchday Manager $24.99 247 72% 7.4k $185k (exactly $185,176) Triple Espresso S.A.
Mad Television Tycoon · EA $20.99 262 84% 7.9k $165k (exactly $164,981) Eggcode
Gaming Cafe Simulator $13.99 385 83% 12k $162k (exactly $161,584) Prapancha Studios
Pawnbroker Simulator $14.99 359 69% 11k $161k (exactly $161,442) Next Sky Games
Sandwich Simulator $4.99 901 77% 27k $135k (exactly $134,880) FiftyEight Studios
Onigiri Shop Simulator $8.99 431 96% 13k $116k (exactly $116,241) Yagni Lab

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