Do I ship it?

GamesPlatformerPlatformer + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Platformer?

Platformer + Time Management

Of 40 developers who shipped a Time Management Platformer 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.. 56 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $120 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 19 developers shipped in the last year and 56 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 56 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Platformer + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $390 → $72k → $150 → $150 → $6.0k → $90 (still earning) → $105 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Platformer + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $119 (exactly $119)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 5% $109k (exactly $109,456)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 124
Announced 56
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 10% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Platformer, Time Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Stylized, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 302,443 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $120, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds19 devs · median $3.0k · 15 announced
  2. + PinballStrong odds10 devs · median $2.5k · 6 announced
  3. + Combat RacingFair28 devs · median $899 · 38 announced
  4. + FMVFair9 devs · median $899 · 10 announced
  5. + SimulationFair281 devs · median $628 · 235 announced
  6. + Grid-Based MovementFair23 devs · median $539 · 18 announced
  7. + AutomationFair13 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  8. + Turn-Based TacticsLong shot15 devs · median $360 · 18 announced
  9. + LGBTQ+Poor odds42 devs · median $7.2k · 90 announced
  10. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds32 devs · median $6.5k · 90 announced
  11. + JRPGPoor odds14 devs · median $5.8k · 38 announced
  12. + SkateboardingPoor odds14 devs · median $4.8k · 23 announced

All 206 pairs on the Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
NODE $24.99 146 91% 4.4k $109k (exactly $109,456) Lapsus Games
Drag and Drop Medieval older $29.99 91 85% 2.7k $82k (exactly $81,873) Galactic Geckon
Garlic Builder older $7.99 299 92% 9.0k $72k (exactly $71,670) CaveLiquid
Duck Life 4 older $4.99 261 86% 7.8k $39k (exactly $39,072) Wix Games
Stop Dead · EA older $14.99 79 94% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,526) Gridsnap Games LLC
Beeftacular older $6.99 111 81% 3.3k $23k (exactly $23,277) Retrific
Fantasy Fishing Town older $6.99 81 77% 2.4k $17k (exactly $16,986) RainbowStudio
Meet me at NooN older $9.99 55 100% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) Pandaroo Interactive
Tribloos 2 older $4.99 80 88% 2.4k $12k (exactly $11,976) BumpkinBrothers
But Why? $1.99 187 89% 5.6k $11k (exactly $11,164) Perspektik
Tempest Tower $14.99 24 83% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) Half Past Yellow
Mighty Marbles $11.99 24 91% 720 $8.6k (exactly $8,633) James Oliver
FixForce $7.99 36 91% 1.1k $8.6k (exactly $8,629) Surgent Studios
Sandloop $12.99 20 90% 600 $7.8k (exactly $7,794) Yoku Games
DIGGERGUN $9.99 20 90% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Kabloop
Hell Runner $14.99 10 100% 300 $4.5k (exactly $4,497) Moonlight Studio
Nazar $9.99 12 75% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Eray Dinc Studio, Recontact Games

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