Do I ship it?

GamesTime ManipulationTime Manipulation + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Manipulation Platformer?

Time Manipulation + Platformer

Of 48 developers who shipped a Time Manipulation 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.. 80 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 22 developers shipped in the last year and 80 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 220% on the market, 80 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 48
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $718 → $839 → $356 → $449 → $300 → $8.1k → $479 (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 48
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Top 5% $153k (exactly $152,920)
Developers, 2 yr 48
Released games 191
Announced 80
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 220% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Puzzle Platformer
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 2,336 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $270, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DemonsFair14 devs · median $2.7k · 9 announced
  2. + CapitalismFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 14 announced
  3. + ModernFair12 devs · median $987 · 9 announced
  4. + PsychologicalFair18 devs · median $897 · 17 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair10 devs · median $657 · 15 announced
  6. + RacingFair10 devs · median $599 · 12 announced
  7. + Precision PlatformerFair22 devs · median $598 · 20 announced
  8. + Choose Your Own AdventurePoor odds9 devs · median $13k · 24 announced
  9. + RobotsPoor odds12 devs · median $11k · 16 announced
  10. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds7 devs · median $6.7k · 22 announced
  11. + DetectivePoor odds16 devs · median $6.5k · 32 announced
  12. + NoirPoor odds9 devs · median $6.5k · 15 announced

All 103 pairs on the Time Manipulation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Katana ZERO older $14.99 66,341 97% 2.0M $30M (exactly $29,833,548) Askiisoft
Touhou Luna Nights older $17.99 13,776 97% 413k $7.4M (exactly $7,434,907) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Braid older $14.99 6,941 93% 208k $3.1M (exactly $3,121,368) Number None
The Entropy Centre older $19.99 3,359 89% 101k $2.0M (exactly $2,014,392) Stubby Games
Timespinner older $19.99 2,823 86% 85k $1.7M (exactly $1,692,953) Lunar Ray Games
Arise: A Simple Story older $19.99 2,723 91% 82k $1.6M (exactly $1,632,983) Piccolo Studio
Prince of Persia®: The Sands of Time older $9.99 5,045 85% 151k $1.5M (exactly $1,511,986) Kudosoft
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within™ older $9.99 3,933 82% 118k $1.2M (exactly $1,178,720) Ubisoft
Braid, Anniversary Edition older $19.99 1,761 92% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,056,072) Thekla, Inc.
CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story™ older $29.99 1,048 87% 31k $943k (exactly $942,886) Double Stallion
Chrono Gear: Warden of Time $17.99 950 98% 29k $513k (exactly $512,715) Team Chrono Gear, GalaxyTrail
Advent NEON® $19.99 300 98% 9.0k $180k (exactly $179,910) CryoGX
DragonLoop $8.99 567 91% 17k $153k (exactly $152,920) 沙因, 小阮
NODE $24.99 146 91% 4.4k $109k (exactly $109,456) Lapsus Games
Super Puzzled Cat $16.99 183 98% 5.5k $93k (exactly $93,275) Penguin Mug Games
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
SPEEDSHOT $14.99 27 100% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) karmacode
A Pinball Game That Makes You Mad $9.99 27 81% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) Azimuth Studios
Duck Paradox $9.99 19 100% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) Magic Games

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