Do I ship it?

Games › Time Management › Time Management + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Time Management game?

Time Management + Sci-fi

Of 122 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 193 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $610, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×521 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 193 games are announced against 75 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 193 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 122
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $14k → $5.4k → $449 → $748 → $2.1k → $179 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 122
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $610 (exactly $610)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,496)
Top 5% $248k (exactly $247,552)
Developers, 2 yr 122
Released games 271
Announced 193
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 up 30% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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 Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Sci-fi
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
Time Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 42,802 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $610, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 57 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 193 games are announced against 75 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Time Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dungeon CrawlerFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair15 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  3. + Inventory ManagementFair181 devs · median $2.9k · 228 announced
  4. + AgricultureFair57 devs · median $2.3k · 73 announced
  5. + Time TravelFair17 devs · median $2.2k · 19 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair27 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  7. + LootFair34 devs · median $1.5k · 47 announced
  8. + Turn-Based TacticsFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  9. + AutomationFair162 devs · median $1.2k · 191 announced
  10. + Bullet HellFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  11. + ThrillerFair42 devs · median $1.1k · 65 announced
  12. + Artificial IntelligenceFair53 devs · median $1.0k · 65 announced

All 179 pairs on the Time Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M The Alters 2025 · $16M LOCKDOWN Protocol 2025 · $5.0M Pacify 2019 · $4.9M Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster 2024 · $4.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lethal Company · EA older $9.99 411,550 97% 12M $123M (exactly $123,341,535) Zeekerss
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
LOCKDOWN Protocol $9.99 16,605 86% 498k $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) Mirage Creative Lab
Pacify older $4.99 32,921 86% 988k $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) Shawn Hitchcock
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster $49.99 2,971 80% 89k $4.5M (exactly $4,455,609) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Cliff Empire older $17.99 4,194 87% 126k $2.3M (exactly $2,263,502) Lion's Shade
Kaiju Princess older $10.99 6,069 95% 182k $2.0M (exactly $2,000,949) PantyParrot
Dōkyūsei: Bangin' Summer older $19.99 1,809 93% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,084,857) Elf, Shiravune
Murky Divers $8.99 3,981 87% 119k $1.1M (exactly $1,073,676) Embers
Aliya: Timelink older $2.99 8,587 97% 258k $770k (exactly $770,254) TDGame Studio
Astronomics · EA $19.99 706 89% 21k $423k (exactly $423,388) Numizmatic
Cook Serve Forever $29.99 333 69% 10k $300k (exactly $299,600) Vertigo Gaming Inc.
Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival $9.99 826 77% 25k $248k (exactly $247,552) RetroStyle Games
Asbury Pines · EA $12.99 558 90% 17k $217k (exactly $217,453) Chaystar Unlimited LLC
Eventide Matter $5.99 927 95% 28k $167k (exactly $166,582) Ottropi Games
Vanguard Galaxy · EA $8.99 565 90% 17k $152k (exactly $152,380) Bat Roost Games

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