Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Time Management
Should I ship a Time Management Sandbox?
Sandbox + Time Management
Of 259 developers who shipped a Time Management Sandbox 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.. 367 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.0k, ×8.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $710k, ×1146 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 367 games are announced against 168 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $900 (exactly $900) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.0k (exactly $5,033) |
| Top 25% | $41k (exactly $40,923) |
| Top 5% | $720k (exactly $719,960) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 259 |
| Released games | 512 |
| Announced | 367 |
| 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 down 15% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Sandbox
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Time Management
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox, Time Management; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Resource Management
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 66,690 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 103 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 367 games are announced against 168 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M 
Big Ambitions 2026 · $11M 
Youtubers Life 2017 · $8.2M 
Parkitect 2018 · $6.1M 
Software Inc. 2015 · EA · $5.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Infection Free Zone | · EA older | $24.99 | 16,568 80% | 497k | $12M (exactly $12,421,030) | Jutsu Games |
| | Big Ambitions | $25.99 | 14,003 92% | 420k | $11M (exactly $10,918,139) | Hovgaard Games | |
| | Youtubers Life | older | $19.99 | 13,748 77% | 412k | $8.2M (exactly $8,244,676) | UPLAY Online |
| | Parkitect | older | $29.99 | 6,809 94% | 204k | $6.1M (exactly $6,126,057) | Texel Raptor |
| | Software Inc. | · EA older | $22.99 | 7,576 94% | 227k | $5.2M (exactly $5,225,167) | Coredumping |
 | Gamble With Your Friends | $7.99 | 18,883 89% | 566k | $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) | TEAM GWYF | |
 | Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster | $49.99 | 2,971 80% | 89k | $4.5M (exactly $4,455,609) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | 112 Operator | older | $24.99 | 5,688 88% | 171k | $4.3M (exactly $4,264,294) | Jutsu Games |
 | The Tenants | older | $19.99 | 7,071 79% | 212k | $4.2M (exactly $4,240,479) | EndGameLoop Games |
 | Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator | $17.99 | 7,019 83% | 211k | $3.8M (exactly $3,788,154) | Biotech Gameworks | |
 | Farm Together 2 | $25.99 | 4,456 93% | 134k | $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) | Milkstone Studios | |
 | News Tower | $24.99 | 4,316 94% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,235,705) | Sparrow Night | |
 | gogh: Focus with Your Avatar | $11.99 | 4,811 91% | 144k | $1.7M (exactly $1,730,517) | ambr | |
 | Matchmaking Inc. | $8.99 | 5,773 87% | 173k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) | Wave Games | |
 | Recycling Center Simulator | $19.99 | 2,594 84% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,555,622) | Balas Games | |
 | Global Rescue | · EA | $24.99 | 1,864 86% | 56k | $1.4M (exactly $1,397,441) | PeDePe GbR |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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