Do I ship it?

Games › Procedural Generation › Procedural Generation + Time Manipulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Procedural Generation Time Manipulation game?

Procedural Generation + Time Manipulation

Of 22 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation 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.. 37 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $80k, ×170 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 37 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 37 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Procedural Generation + Time Manipulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $2.9k → $1.6k → $2.4k → $419 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Procedural Generation + Time Manipulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 5% $81k (exactly $80,968)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 50
Announced 37
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 down 50% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Procedural Generation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Time Manipulation
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
Procedural Generation, Time Manipulation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Dungeon Crawler, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 968 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $80k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SnowFair11 devs · median $3.0k · 16 announced
  2. + Traditional RoguelikeFair71 devs · median $2.0k · 93 announced
  3. + DetectiveFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced
  4. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  5. + TypingFair26 devs · median $1.1k · 11 announced
  6. + IdlerFair98 devs · median $807 · 107 announced
  7. + LogicFair137 devs · median $478 · 149 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair57 devs · median $449 · 62 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair58 devs · median $418 · 56 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds31 devs · median $77k · 95 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds22 devs · median $30k · 35 announced

All 222 pairs on the Procedural Generation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

No Plan B 2024 · $342k Cube Chaos 2025 · $223k Titans of the Past 2025 · $81k Time Snatcher Handy 2025 · $26k Natti 2023 · EA · $26k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
No Plan B older $14.99 761 86% 23k $342k (exactly $342,222) GFX47
Cube Chaos $11.99 621 95% 19k $223k (exactly $223,374) Wunarg
Titans of the Past $24.99 108 83% 3.2k $81k (exactly $80,968) Devil's Dozen Games
Time Snatcher Handy $9.99 88 96% 2.6k $26k (exactly $26,374) PulleyBun, ClockworkCats
Natti · EA older $7.99 109 58% 3.3k $26k (exactly $26,127) 4DAYS LAB Co., Ltd.
Industry Giant older $9.99 70 77% 2.1k $21k (exactly $20,979) QLOC
Moon Watch · EA $9.99 56 57% 1.7k $17k (exactly $16,783) Jaspel
Oakenfold older $19.99 24 70% 720 $14k (exactly $14,393) Rutger van Dijk
SATORI older $7.99 43 76% 1.3k $10k (exactly $10,307) EMOTION THEORY
Afterglitch older $9.99 24 91% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) Vladimir Kudelka
Ricave $14.99 12 100% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Rogueatic Games
Panta Rhei - Guardian of Time $9.99 18 94% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Sappalot Studio, Omme Animation, Nordic… (Sappalot Studio, Omme Animation, Nordic Scoring)
Anomaly Protocol · EA $4.99 33 72% 990 $4.9k (exactly $4,940) Oriland
Wild Script: Nature · EA $4.99 16 93% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Surdarium
Symphorix · EA $5.99 12 100% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) OnTriggerJoy
Stop the Blight $12.99 4 50% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) Bouncy Washer

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