Do I ship it?

GamesRogueliteRoguelite + Time Travel

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time-Travel Roguelite?

Roguelite + Time Travel

Of 23 developers who shipped a Time-Travel 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.. 33 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 $4.3k, ×9.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×722 the market median. Revenue is up 125% on the market; 33 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 125% on the market, 33 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Time Travel
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $4.3k → $300 → $343k → $5.4k (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Time Travel: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $4.3k (exactly $4,316)
Top 25% $7.6k (exactly $7,635)
Top 5% $343k (exactly $343,028)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 43
Announced 33
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 125% on the market, supply 10% 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.

Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Time Travel
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Roguelite; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelike
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 4,798 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $4.3k, 1 in 4 over $7.6k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Roguelite with a different setting or mood, 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
GNOSIA older $24.99 4,855 93% 146k $3.6M (exactly $3,639,794) Petit Depotto
Multiverse Loot Hunter $11.99 2,585 80% 78k $930k (exactly $929,824) 游戏养家工作室
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.
Return to abyss 重返深渊 older $4.99 949 79% 28k $142k (exactly $142,065) Wingjoy Games
Time Break Chronicles · EA older $14.99 298 88% 8.9k $134k (exactly $134,011) Warrior General Games, LLC
Time Treker $6.99 399 65% 12k $84k (exactly $83,670) Fuse Game
Mist Slayer older $7.99 305 64% 9.2k $73k (exactly $73,108) Moju Games
PROJECT TACHYON $17.99 117 83% 3.5k $63k (exactly $63,145) STUDIO N9
Time Survivors older $4.99 272 61% 8.2k $41k (exactly $40,718) Lunar Chili
Tale of Immortal Ring $4.99 51 66% 1.5k $7.6k (exactly $7,635) Solo Gaming
NeverCOM · EA $4.99 49 95% 1.5k $7.3k (exactly $7,335) Shenzhen Huajian Network Technology Co.… (Shenzhen Huajian Network Technology Co., Ltd)
BARD'S FAULT $9.99 21 80% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Sunabi Studios
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)
Clockfall · EA $9.99 18 94% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Rever Games GmbH

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