Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Roguelike?

Roguelike + Time Management

Of 96 developers who shipped a Time Management Roguelike 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.. 145 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×332 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 145 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 145 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 96
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $478 → $18k → $1.4k → $6.2k → $17k → $3.3k → $897 (still earning) → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 96
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,492)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $19,780)
Top 5% $158k (exactly $157,549)
Developers, 2 yr 96
Released games 164
Announced 145
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 80% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Roguelike, Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Strategy, Resource Management
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 16,168 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 145 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.9k · 17 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair60 devs · median $1.8k · 85 announced
  7. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  8. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  10. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  12. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Loop Hero 2021 · $15M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience 2020 · $1.6M Deadly Days: Roadtrip 2025 · EA · $1.3M Uplink 2006 · $637k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Loop Hero older $14.99 33,816 92% 1.0M $15M (exactly $15,207,055) Four Quarters
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience older $19.99 2,596 91% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,556,821) Delve Interactive
Deadly Days: Roadtrip · EA $14.99 2,855 87% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894) Pixelsplit
Uplink older $11.99 1,771 89% 53k $637k (exactly $637,029) Introversion Software
Coal LLC $14.99 1,343 92% 40k $604k (exactly $603,947) Bye Bye Ocean
Godlike Burger older $19.99 796 75% 24k $477k (exactly $477,361) Liquid Pug
Help Will Come Tomorrow older $19.99 777 80% 23k $466k (exactly $465,967) Arclight Creations
Mini Airways - ATC simulator older $9.99 1,339 92% 40k $401k (exactly $401,298) CCC Games, Erabit
Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival $9.99 826 77% 25k $248k (exactly $247,552) RetroStyle Games
CiniCross $11.99 438 85% 13k $158k (exactly $157,549) Hydrobates
👑Idle Calibur：Zero💕（选王之剑：零） $10.99 445 80% 13k $147k (exactly $146,716) 绝汪
生嚿叉燒好過生你 $14.99 284 88% 8.5k $128k (exactly $127,715) 無厘頭遊戲工作室
Becoming a King $14.99 281 77% 8.4k $126k (exactly $126,366) Lustration Team, TopHouse Studio
Goblin Sushi · EA $9.99 404 89% 12k $121k (exactly $121,079) Old Cake Factory
Rina's Undercover Train Operation $13.99 286 70% 8.6k $120k (exactly $120,034) Metamorphose

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