Do I ship it?

Games › Time Manipulation › Time Manipulation + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Manipulation Runner?

Time Manipulation + Runner

Only 11 developers shipped a Time Manipulation Runner in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, SPEEDSHOT, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 17 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $120 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 9 developers shipped in the last year and 17 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 17 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Runner
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $718 → $599 (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $120 (exactly $120)
Top 25% $599 (exactly $599)
Top 5% $12k (exactly $12,142)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 33
Announced 17
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 350% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Runner
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, Runner
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 8 games average 98% positive over 48 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $120, 1 in 4 over $590, 1 in 20 over $12k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 17 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

SPEEDSHOT 2026 · $12k Climb VR New York Parkour 2023 · $7.2k Time Warp Infinite 2024 · $3.9k Echobreaker 2026 · $3.2k Project Kunai 2022 · $2.2k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SPEEDSHOT $14.99 27 100% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) karmacode
Climb VR New York Parkour older $19.99 12 25% 360 $7.2k (exactly $7,196) SRİO
Time Warp Infinite older $9.99 13 92% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) Zoglu
Echobreaker $8.99 12 100% 360 $3.2k (exactly $3,236) Upstream Arcade
Project Kunai older $4.99 15 86% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) Hypnos Games
Parallel Shift older $1.99 21 90% 630 $1.3k (exactly $1,254) Insightful Games
TOKKI older $4.99 8 100% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Zeno G.
Off The Tracks older $3.99 6 50% 180 $718 (exactly $718) Loneminded
Run! And Don't Stop · EA $4.99 4 100% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Crimson Monolith Studios
The Hero with a Thousand Arms / 千手英雄 older $4.99 4 75% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Bitca
LOAGRITE: The Flightless Bird $5.99 1 100% 30 $180 (exactly $180) Scissortail
World Sprint $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) AKD Studios LLC
Warp Dash $3.99 1 0% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Adweb
Loop of Agony $3.50 1 100% 30 $105 (exactly $105) Kaos Games
Loreen's Purgatory $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) Omega Gaming
Dash · EA $2.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Deep Water Depth Studios
Parkour Pulse · EA $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Jabsz Studios

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