Games › Time Management › Time Management + Romance
Should I ship a Romance Time Management game?
Time Management + Romance
Of 65 developers who shipped a Romance Time 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.. 122 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $11k, ×23 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $590k, ×1252 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 122 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
|---|---|
| Median | $11k (exactly $10,782) |
| Top 25% | $56k (exactly $55,990) |
| Top 5% | $595k (exactly $594,702) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 65 |
| Released games | 155 |
| Announced | 122 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Time Management
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Romance
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Time Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Visual Novel, Dating Sim
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 13,431 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 6 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Time Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dungeon CrawlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + AgricultureFair
- + Time TravelFair
- + ZombiesFair
- + LootFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + ThrillerFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
Comparable games
Potionomics 2022 · $5.2M 
小白兔电商~Bunny e-Shop 2021 · $3.0M 
Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring 2021 · $2.6M 
Kaiju Princess 2022 · $2.0M 
Kaiju Princess 2 2024 · $1.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Potionomics | older | $24.99 | 6,973 90% | 209k | $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) | Voracious Games |
| | 小白兔电商~Bunny e-Shop | older | $10.99 | 9,176 93% | 275k | $3.0M (exactly $3,025,327) | 落叶岛项目组, 橘子班 |
| | Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring | older | $13.99 | 6,310 95% | 189k | $2.6M (exactly $2,648,307) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) |
| | Kaiju Princess | older | $10.99 | 6,069 95% | 182k | $2.0M (exactly $2,000,949) | PantyParrot |
| | Kaiju Princess 2 | $17.99 | 3,107 96% | 93k | $1.7M (exactly $1,676,848) | PantyParrot | |
 | Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,579 55% | 107k | $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) | Klabater |
 | Matchmaking Inc. | $8.99 | 5,773 87% | 173k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) | Wave Games | |
 | Little Goody Two Shoes | older | $19.99 | 2,209 95% | 66k | $1.3M (exactly $1,324,737) | AstralShift |
 | Sword and Fairy Inn 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,013 49% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,207,196) | SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT |
 | Dōkyūsei: Bangin' Summer | older | $19.99 | 1,809 93% | 54k | $1.1M (exactly $1,084,857) | Elf, Shiravune |
 | Football Life Simulator | · EA | $19.99 | 1,567 68% | 47k | $940k (exactly $939,730) | Ludu Arts |
 | AV Director Life! | $29.99 | 661 85% | 20k | $595k (exactly $594,702) | TeamKRAMA | |
 | Midnight Sin | $19.99 | 387 82% | 12k | $232k (exactly $232,084) | Faerin Games | |
 | Hotel Tales | $14.99 | 455 80% | 14k | $205k (exactly $204,614) | TopHouse Studio | |
 | Kurage Life | $10.99 | 588 90% | 18k | $194k (exactly $193,864) | TAIL-AKI | |
 | A Town Uncovered | $14.99 | 324 66% | 9.7k | $146k (exactly $145,703) | GeeSeki | |
 | Teller's Duty | $11.99 | 388 72% | 12k | $140k (exactly $139,564) | Hiscory | |
 | Summer Beach | $24.99 | 181 66% | 5.4k | $136k (exactly $135,696) | Sakura Cat |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.