Games › Time Manipulation › Time Manipulation + Puzzle Platformer
Should I ship a Time Manipulation Puzzle Platformer?
Time Manipulation + Puzzle Platformer
Of 39 developers who shipped a Time Manipulation Puzzle 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.. 73 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $59; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×230 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 73 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $59 (exactly $59) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $3.4k (exactly $3,414) |
| Top 5% | $109k (exactly $109,456) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 39 |
| Released games | 158 |
| Announced | 73 |
| 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 60% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Puzzle Platformer
- 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, Puzzle Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Action
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 97% positive over 1,066 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $59. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Time Manipulation with a different second tag, 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
Braid 2009 · $3.1M 
The Entropy Centre 2022 · $2.0M 
Arise: A Simple Story 2020 · $1.6M 
Prince of Persia®: The Sands of Time 2008 · $1.5M 
The Gardens Between 2018 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 |
| | 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 |
| | The Gardens Between | older | $19.99 | 2,362 93% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,416,491) | The Voxel Agents |
 | Braid, Anniversary Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,761 92% | 53k | $1.1M (exactly $1,056,072) | Thekla, Inc. |
 | Timelie | older | $17.99 | 1,783 95% | 53k | $962k (exactly $962,285) | Urnique Studio |
 | Quantum Conundrum | older | $8.99 | 1,758 84% | 53k | $474k (exactly $474,133) | Airtight Games |
 | Super Time Force Ultra | older | $14.99 | 677 90% | 20k | $304k (exactly $304,447) | Capybara Games |
 | What Lies in the Multiverse | older | $14.99 | 519 91% | 16k | $233k (exactly $233,394) | Studio Voyager, IguanaBee |
 | MotionRec | $9.99 | 430 99% | 13k | $129k (exactly $128,871) | HANDSUM | |
 | 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 | |
 | Bauhaus Bonk | $7.99 | 73 100% | 2.2k | $17k (exactly $17,498) | Spoonful Games | |
 | Mai: Child of Ages | $14.99 | 34 88% | 1.0k | $15k (exactly $15,290) | Chubby Pixel | |
 | Get Up In The Night | $6.99 | 52 98% | 1.6k | $11k (exactly $10,904) | GUITN Studio | |
 | Nazar | $9.99 | 12 75% | 360 | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) | Eray Dinc Studio, Recontact Games | |
 | Raster | $5.99 | 19 100% | 570 | $3.4k (exactly $3,414) | Rchair Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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