Do I ship it?

Games › Time Manipulation › Time Manipulation + Roguelite

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Manipulation Roguelite?

Time Manipulation + Roguelite

Of 38 developers who shipped a Time Manipulation 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.. 56 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×4.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×657 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 56 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 56 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Roguelite
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $4.1k → $1.0k → $4.7k → $2.7k → $479 (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Roguelite: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $358 (exactly $358)
Median $2.0k (exactly $1,978)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 5% $312k (exactly $311,860)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 60
Announced 56
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 down 15% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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.

Time Manipulation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Roguelite
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
Time Manipulation, Roguelite; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action Roguelike, Roguelike, Action
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, Top-Down
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 88% positive over 3,045 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 $2.0k, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DemonsFair14 devs · median $2.7k · 9 announced
  2. + CapitalismFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 14 announced
  3. + ModernFair12 devs · median $987 · 9 announced
  4. + PsychologicalFair18 devs · median $897 · 17 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair10 devs · median $657 · 15 announced
  6. + RacingFair10 devs · median $599 · 12 announced
  7. + Precision PlatformerFair22 devs · median $598 · 20 announced
  8. + Choose Your Own AdventurePoor odds9 devs · median $13k · 24 announced
  9. + RobotsPoor odds12 devs · median $11k · 16 announced
  10. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds7 devs · median $6.7k · 22 announced
  11. + DetectivePoor odds16 devs · median $6.5k · 32 announced
  12. + NoirPoor odds9 devs · median $6.5k · 15 announced

All 103 pairs on the Time Manipulation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

DEATHLOOP 2021 · $36M Million Depth 2025 · $343k Ascend to ZERO 2026 · $312k Cube Chaos 2025 · $223k Maze Mice 2025 · $94k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DEATHLOOP older $59.99 19,910 76% 597k $36M (exactly $35,832,027) Arkane Studios
Million Depth $16.99 673 93% 20k $343k (exactly $343,028) Cyber Space Biotope
Ascend to ZERO $11.99 867 82% 26k $312k (exactly $311,860) Flyway Games, Inc.
Cube Chaos $11.99 621 95% 19k $223k (exactly $223,374) Wunarg
Maze Mice $9.99 315 88% 9.5k $94k (exactly $94,406) TrampolineTales
Titans of the Past $24.99 108 83% 3.2k $81k (exactly $80,968) Devil's Dozen Games
Super Drift Blade $6.99 351 94% 11k $74k (exactly $73,605) Liujiajun
Blast-off older $2.99 379 86% 11k $34k (exactly $33,996) Quad-Games
PositronX older $19.99 56 71% 1.7k $34k (exactly $33,583) Scorpius Games
Moon Watch · EA $9.99 56 57% 1.7k $17k (exactly $16,783) Jaspel
Remnants of the Rift $14.99 15 86% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) Bromio
Accretion $9.99 21 38% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) ValarFerys
Panta Rhei - Guardian of Time $9.99 18 94% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Sappalot Studio, Omme Animation, Nordic… (Sappalot Studio, Omme Animation, Nordic Scoring)

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