Do I ship it?

GamesPvPPvP + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP Time Management game?

PvP + Time Management

Of 51 developers who shipped a PvP Time Management 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.. 95 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $690, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 95 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper, while revenue is up 350% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 95 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $540 → $210 → $150 → $3.0k → $897 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $693 (exactly $693)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,148)
Top 5% $98k (exactly $98,484)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 129
Announced 95
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 350% on the market, supply 225% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
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
PvP, Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Online Co-Op
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 17,747 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 $690, 1 in 4 over $3.1k, 1 in 20 over $98k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 95 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Turmoil older $12.99 13,154 92% 395k $5.1M (exactly $5,126,114) Gamious
LOCKDOWN Protocol $9.99 16,605 86% 498k $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) Mirage Creative Lab
WRC 10 FIA World Rally Championship older $49.99 2,657 73% 80k $4.0M (exactly $3,984,703) KT Racing
WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship older $29.99 3,642 77% 109k $3.3M (exactly $3,276,707) KT Racing
WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship older $29.99 2,007 74% 60k $1.8M (exactly $1,805,698) KT Racing
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 older $19.99 2,013 49% 60k $1.2M (exactly $1,207,196) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
Dummynation older $11.99 3,127 88% 94k $1.1M (exactly $1,124,782) Alejandro Hernández Ferrero
WE ARE FOOTBALL 2024 older $39.99 751 79% 23k $901k (exactly $900,975) Winning Streak Games GmbH
WE ARE FOOTBALL older $24.99 839 75% 25k $629k (exactly $628,998) Winning Streak Games
Timeflow – Life Sim · EA older $14.99 1,379 91% 41k $620k (exactly $620,136) Digital Geckos
Airport Security Sucks! $7.99 458 85% 14k $110k (exactly $109,783) JakeHub, Metater
Pizza Slice $14.99 219 56% 6.6k $98k (exactly $98,484) Quest Craft, Gaming Factory
SkyInFlames · EA $6.99 223 95% 6.7k $47k (exactly $46,763) VasyliyBritva
Cafe Crew Simulator $9.99 59 72% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,682) Woo Game Studio
Retail Rivals $9.99 47 97% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,086) DreamStudios, Madse Studios, Sandstorm… (DreamStudios, Madse Studios, Sandstorm in a Bottle)
Trade Rivals - Goblin Age · EA $4.20 67 88% 2.0k $8.4k (exactly $8,442) Roog Game Studio
Rail Estate $7.99 30 93% 900 $7.2k (exactly $7,191) Holonautic
Nuice Industries · EA $7.99 25 96% 750 $6.0k (exactly $5,992) CastleWind
Global Business Tycoon $12.99 14 57% 420 $5.5k (exactly $5,456) Virox Studios

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