Do I ship it?

Games › Open World › Open World + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Open World game?

Open World + Time Management

Of 84 developers who shipped a Time Management Open World 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.. 155 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×1.3 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×933 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 155 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 155 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 84
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $419 → $56k → $5.6k → $5.8k → $1.6k → $898 → $3.9k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 84
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 25% $31k (exactly $30,638)
Top 5% $1.4M (exactly $1,397,441)
Developers, 2 yr 84
Released games 175
Announced 155
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 140% on the market, supply 65% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Open World, Time Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Sandbox, Management
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 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 $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 50,725 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 $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $30k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 155 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Open World with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Blood of Dawnwalker 2026 · $33M Big Ambitions 2026 · $11M The Bus 2026 · $9.4M Youtubers Life 2017 · $8.2M 112 Operator 2020 · $4.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Blood of Dawnwalker $69.99 15,789 86% 474k $33M (exactly $33,152,163) Rebel Wolves
Big Ambitions $25.99 14,003 92% 420k $11M (exactly $10,918,139) Hovgaard Games
The Bus $39.99 7,831 73% 235k $9.4M (exactly $9,394,851) TML-Studios
Youtubers Life older $19.99 13,748 77% 412k $8.2M (exactly $8,244,676) UPLAY Online
112 Operator older $24.99 5,688 88% 171k $4.3M (exactly $4,264,294) Jutsu Games
WRC 10 FIA World Rally Championship older $49.99 2,657 73% 80k $4.0M (exactly $3,984,703) KT Racing
Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator $17.99 7,019 83% 211k $3.8M (exactly $3,788,154) Biotech Gameworks
Let's School older $19.99 5,887 92% 177k $3.5M (exactly $3,530,434) Pathea Games
WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship older $29.99 3,642 77% 109k $3.3M (exactly $3,276,707) KT Racing
Fishing: North Atlantic - Enhanced Edition older $34.99 2,535 76% 76k $2.7M (exactly $2,660,990) Misc Games
Global Rescue · EA $24.99 1,864 86% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,397,441) PeDePe GbR
Havendock $19.99 1,504 81% 45k $902k (exactly $901,949) YYZ Studio
Card Cultivation $14.99 694 70% 21k $312k (exactly $312,092) DarkIndex
Underground Garage $14.99 646 63% 19k $291k (exactly $290,506) BeardedBrothers.games
SkyBrew: Entropic Strategist $17.99 522 75% 16k $282k (exactly $281,723) ATRIC Games
万象群侠传 $8.99 853 85% 26k $230k (exactly $230,054) 火天工作室

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