Games › RPG › RPG + Time Manipulation
Should I ship a Time Manipulation RPG?
RPG + Time Manipulation
Of 32 developers who shipped a Time Manipulation RPG 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.. 93 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×8.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×1917 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 93 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,256) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) |
| Top 25% | $92k (exactly $91,749) |
| Top 5% | $1.2M (exactly $1,203,999) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 99 |
| Announced | 93 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 up 90% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- RPG
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Time Manipulation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- RPG, Time Manipulation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 7,034 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.3k. 7 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 93 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + IdlerFair
- + Boss RushFair
- + SportsFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
Comparable games
Touhou Luna Nights 2019 · $7.4M 
Sovereign Tower 2026 · $1.9M 
Timespinner 2018 · $1.7M 
The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II 2025 · $1.2M 
No Time 2019 · EA · $825k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Touhou Luna Nights | older | $17.99 | 13,776 97% | 413k | $7.4M (exactly $7,434,907) | Team Ladybug, WSS playground |
| | Sovereign Tower | $19.99 | 3,087 93% | 93k | $1.9M (exactly $1,851,274) | WILD WITS GAMES | |
| | Timespinner | older | $19.99 | 2,823 86% | 85k | $1.7M (exactly $1,692,953) | Lunar Ray Games |
| | The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II | $59.99 | 669 83% | 20k | $1.2M (exactly $1,203,999) | Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH | |
| | No Time | · EA older | $12.99 | 2,117 97% | 64k | $825k (exactly $824,995) | Lost in Days Studio |
 | Cris Tales | older | $39.99 | 392 66% | 12k | $470k (exactly $470,282) | Dreams Uncorporated, SYCK |
 | Deadeye Deepfake Simulacrum | $12.99 | 839 98% | 25k | $327k (exactly $326,958) | nodayshalleraseyou | |
 | Iron Danger | older | $19.99 | 544 73% | 16k | $326k (exactly $326,237) | Action Squad Studios |
 | 灵墟 | older | $10.99 | 946 86% | 28k | $312k (exactly $311,896) | HappyTall Game |
 | Ascend to ZERO | $11.99 | 867 82% | 26k | $312k (exactly $311,860) | Flyway Games, Inc. | |
 | Kill The Shadow | $16.99 | 447 86% | 13k | $228k (exactly $227,836) | Shadowlight | |
 | Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate | $49.99 | 149 62% | 4.5k | $223k (exactly $223,455) | Mighty Eyes | |
 | DragonLoop | $8.99 | 567 91% | 17k | $153k (exactly $152,920) | 沙因, 小阮 | |
 | Retrace the Light | $17.99 | 170 85% | 5.1k | $92k (exactly $91,749) | Xiaming Game | |
 | Titans of the Past | $24.99 | 108 83% | 3.2k | $81k (exactly $80,968) | Devil's Dozen Games | |
 | Lord Ambermaze | $14.99 | 131 91% | 3.9k | $59k (exactly $58,911) | Potata Company |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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