Do I ship it?

GamesRogueliteRoguelite + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Roguelite?

Roguelite + Time Management

Of 107 developers who shipped a Time Management Roguelite 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.. 174 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×5.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×521 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 174 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 174 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 107
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $89 → $50k → $4.5k → $6.2k → $2.4k → $3.6k → $2.4k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 107
Bottom 30% $629 (exactly $629)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,397)
Top 25% $29k (exactly $29,471)
Top 5% $248k (exactly $247,552)
Developers, 2 yr 107
Released games 175
Announced 174
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 15% on the market, supply 70% more developers than 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Roguelite
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
Roguelite, Time Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Resource Management
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 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 $7.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 25,275 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $29k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 7 in 10 of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 174 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-TimeFair11 devs · median $11k · 14 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair24 devs · median $9.3k · 28 announced
  3. + VampiresFair60 devs · median $4.8k · 62 announced
  4. + TypingFair29 devs · median $2.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  6. + IdlerFair166 devs · median $1.5k · 235 announced
  7. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair23 devs · median $1.1k · 23 announced
  9. + Score AttackFair344 devs · median $719 · 450 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair94 devs · median $600 · 121 announced
  11. + LogicFair144 devs · median $599 · 143 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds21 devs · median $74k · 24 announced

All 229 pairs on the Roguelite page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
School Days $14.99 6,023 77% 181k $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) 白雨工作室
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
Survival Log $10.99 2,709 82% 81k $893k (exactly $893,157) Midnight Workshop
Coal LLC $14.99 1,343 92% 40k $604k (exactly $603,947) Bye Bye Ocean
Coffee Caravan older $11.99 1,400 92% 42k $504k (exactly $503,580) Broccoli Games
Help Will Come Tomorrow older $19.99 777 80% 23k $466k (exactly $465,967) Arclight Creations
Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival $9.99 826 77% 25k $248k (exactly $247,552) RetroStyle Games
轮回修仙传 $4.99 1,085 81% 33k $162k (exactly $162,424) Collider Studio
Sinner Maker · EA $9.66 545 91% 16k $158k (exactly $157,941) Pantokrator
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

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