Do I ship it?

GamesTime ManagementTime Management + Science

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Science Time Management game?

Time Management + Science

Only 19 developers shipped a Science Time Management game 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, The Alters, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 32 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $16M, ×33878 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 32 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 32 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Science
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $32k → $21k → $599 → $5.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Science: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,799)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $21,407)
Top 5% $16M (exactly $16,091,901)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 53
Announced 32
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $8.30

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 80% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Science
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Time Management; all of the top 25% also carry Management, Resource Management, Strategy
Price point
$8.30 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.30.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 16,929 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $16M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
Data Center $8.99 916 76% 27k $247k (exactly $247,045) Waseku
Life Below $29.99 150 80% 4.5k $135k (exactly $134,955) Megapop
SCP Strategy older $6.99 556 78% 17k $117k (exactly $116,593) LUXO Interactive
Space Mechanic Simulator older $19.99 115 60% 3.5k $69k (exactly $68,966) Atomic Jelly
Size Matters older $9.99 159 91% 4.8k $48k (exactly $47,652) Mazen Games
Tea Garden Simulator older $19.99 54 74% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Flying Robot Studios
My Mad Scientist Roommate Turned Me Into Her Personal Robotic Battle Maiden?!? older $29.99 32 90% 960 $29k (exactly $28,790) Lached Up Games
The Fool's Apprentice $16.99 42 52% 1.3k $21k (exactly $21,407) The Planar Danse
SysAdmin Odyssey - Back to the office · EA $8.30 40 75% 1.2k $10k (exactly $9,960) Molodoy-GameDev
Oil Refinery - The Simulation $14.99 18 38% 540 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) Polygon Art
Forgotten 23 $12.99 14 92% 420 $5.5k (exactly $5,456) KovalGames
F.A.R.M.S.: Chill Factory $7.99 22 72% 660 $5.3k (exactly $5,273) Plema Crafts
Bomb Squad $14.99 4 100% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) International Headquarters

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