Do I ship it?

Games › Time Manipulation › Time Manipulation + Modern

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Modern-Day Time Manipulation game?

Time Manipulation + Modern

Only 12 developers shipped a Modern-Day Time Manipulation 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.. 9 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $990, ×2.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $120. Revenue is up 2350% on the market; 9 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 2350% on the market, 9 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Modern
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $32k → $599 → $89k
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Modern: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $987 (exactly $987)
Top 25% $35k (exactly $34,862)
Top 5% $2.8M (exactly $2,839,580)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 28
Announced 9
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 2350% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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
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 Manipulation
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 5,555 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $990, 1 in 4 over $34k, 1 in 20 over $2.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 5 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 9 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DemonsFair14 devs · median $2.7k · 9 announced
  2. + CapitalismFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 14 announced
  3. + PsychologicalFair18 devs · median $897 · 17 announced
  4. + CollectathonFair10 devs · median $657 · 15 announced
  5. + RacingFair10 devs · median $599 · 12 announced
  6. + Precision PlatformerFair22 devs · median $598 · 20 announced
  7. + Choose Your Own AdventurePoor odds9 devs · median $13k · 24 announced
  8. + RobotsPoor odds12 devs · median $11k · 16 announced
  9. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds7 devs · median $6.7k · 22 announced
  10. + DetectivePoor odds16 devs · median $6.5k · 32 announced
  11. + NoirPoor odds9 devs · median $6.5k · 15 announced
  12. + RPGPoor odds32 devs · median $5.4k · 93 announced

All 103 pairs on the Time Manipulation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Drifter 2025 · $2.8M SeaOrama: World of Shipping 2023 · $229k Check Inn 2025 · $89k Unaware in The City 2024 · $35k Mobiles Tycoon 2024 · $32k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Drifter $19.99 4,735 97% 142k $2.8M (exactly $2,839,580) Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd
SeaOrama: World of Shipping older $19.99 382 58% 11k $229k (exactly $229,085) Hidden Tower, SeaOrama
Check Inn $14.99 197 84% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) KishMish Games
Unaware in The City $5.99 194 81% 5.8k $35k (exactly $34,862) Mr. Unaware Studios
Mobiles Tycoon older $5.99 177 83% 5.3k $32k (exactly $31,807) Insignis Games
Paragnosia $3.99 228 92% 6.8k $27k (exactly $27,292) Sine Coda
Paragnosia: Museum $5.99 139 87% 4.2k $25k (exactly $24,978) Sine Coda
Shadows of Soldiers $9.99 45 75% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) Ghost in the Wire
Claire's Cruisin' Cafe older $6.99 39 87% 1.2k $8.2k (exactly $8,178) Alawar Casual
Rescue Team: Planet Savers older $6.99 23 95% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) GameMixer
Temporal Gunslinger $2.99 11 100% 330 $987 (exactly $987) Ledan's Gift
Bodycam:Adrenaline $9.99 2 0% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Rocket Game
Israel vs. Iran: IRON DOME $4.99 3 66% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Michael Blair
Warp Dash $3.99 1 0% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Adweb

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