Games › Time Manipulation › Time Manipulation + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Time Manipulation game?
Time Manipulation + Mystery
Of 42 developers who shipped a Mystery Time Manipulation 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.. 96 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×2.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×698 the market median. Revenue is up 555% on the market; 96 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $15,290) |
| Top 5% | $331k (exactly $331,429) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 115 |
| Announced | 96 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 555% on the market, supply 15% 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.
- Time Manipulation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Mystery
- 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 7,313 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Time Manipulation with a different setting or mood, 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
Twelve Minutes 2021 · $5.6M 
The Drifter 2025 · $2.8M 
The Sexy Brutale 2017 · $1.7M 
The Gardens Between 2018 · $1.4M 
NUTS 2021 · $663k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Twelve Minutes | older | $24.99 | 7,408 73% | 222k | $5.6M (exactly $5,553,778) | Luis Antonio |
| | 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 |
| | The Gardens Between | older | $19.99 | 2,362 93% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,416,491) | The Voxel Agents |
| | NUTS | older | $24.99 | 884 88% | 27k | $663k (exactly $662,735) | Joon, Pol, Muutsch, Char & Torfi |
 | Lucifer Within Us | older | $19.99 | 635 73% | 19k | $381k (exactly $380,809) | Kitfox Games |
 | Homebody | older | $19.99 | 632 93% | 19k | $379k (exactly $379,010) | Game Grumps |
 | 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 |
 | Kill The Shadow | $16.99 | 447 86% | 13k | $228k (exactly $227,836) | Shadowlight | |
 | Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate | $49.99 | 149 62% | 4.5k | $223k (exactly $223,455) | Mighty Eyes | |
 | Ever 17 - The Out of Infinity | $29.99 | 182 82% | 5.5k | $164k (exactly $163,745) | MAGES. Inc. | |
 | Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo: Closure Edition | $19.99 | 164 99% | 4.9k | $98k (exactly $98,351) | Galla | |
 | Orbyss | $14.99 | 68 95% | 2.0k | $31k (exactly $30,580) | Misty Whale | |
 | Causal Loop | $19.99 | 49 91% | 1.5k | $29k (exactly $29,385) | Mirebound Interactive | |
 | Paragnosia | $3.99 | 228 92% | 6.8k | $27k (exactly $27,292) | Sine Coda |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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