Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Time Management

Of 532 developers who shipped a Time Management Resource 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.. 808 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×5.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×528 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 808 games are announced against 355 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 808 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 532
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $14k → $2.9k → $3.4k → $9.3k → $2.7k → $1.9k (still earning) → $898 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 532
Bottom 30% $418 (exactly $418)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,395)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,740)
Top 5% $251k (exactly $250,960)
Developers, 2 yr 532
Released games 1,107
Announced 808
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 25% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management, Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 105,939 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 212 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 808 games are announced against 355 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Farthest Frontier 2025 · $26M The Alters 2025 · $16M Loop Hero 2021 · $15M Big Ambitions 2026 · $11M Youtubers Life 2017 · $8.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Farthest Frontier $34.99 24,444 86% 733k $26M (exactly $25,658,867) Crate Entertainment
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Loop Hero older $14.99 33,816 92% 1.0M $15M (exactly $15,207,055) Four Quarters
Big Ambitions $25.99 14,003 92% 420k $11M (exactly $10,918,139) Hovgaard Games
Youtubers Life older $19.99 13,748 77% 412k $8.2M (exactly $8,244,676) UPLAY Online
F1® Manager 2024 older $34.99 5,554 83% 167k $5.8M (exactly $5,830,034) Frontier Developments
Tavern Master older $14.99 12,613 92% 378k $5.7M (exactly $5,672,066) Untitled Studio
Potionomics older $24.99 6,973 90% 209k $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) Voracious Games
Turmoil older $12.99 13,154 92% 395k $5.1M (exactly $5,126,114) Gamious
Gamble With Your Friends $7.99 18,883 89% 566k $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) TEAM GWYF
Tiny Bookshop $19.99 6,967 96% 209k $4.2M (exactly $4,178,110) neoludic games
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
News Tower $24.99 4,316 94% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,235,705) Sparrow Night
School Days $14.99 6,023 77% 181k $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) 白雨工作室
Esports Manager 2026 $19.99 3,860 73% 116k $2.3M (exactly $2,314,842) Neurona Games
Kaiju Princess 2 $17.99 3,107 96% 93k $1.7M (exactly $1,676,848) PantyParrot

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