Do I ship it?

Games › Time Manipulation › Time Manipulation + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Manipulation Score Attack game?

Time Manipulation + Score Attack

Of 24 developers who shipped a Time Manipulation Score Attack 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.. 32 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $59; 1 in 20 cleared $88k, ×187 the market median. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 32 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 32 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $899 → $3.3k → $178 → $882 → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $3.2k (exactly $3,236)
Top 5% $89k (exactly $88,591)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 67
Announced 32
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 100% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Score Attack
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, Score Attack; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Puzzle, Shoot 'Em Up
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 769 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $59, median $600, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $88k.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. All of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

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

Metro Simulator 2 2023 · $303k MotionRec 2025 · $129k Check Inn 2025 · $89k COGEN: Sword of Rewind / COGEN: 大鳥こはくと刻の剣 2022 · $84k Zombieland VR: Headshot Fever 2021 · $37k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Metro Simulator 2 older $14.99 674 65% 20k $303k (exactly $303,098) KishMish Games
MotionRec $9.99 430 99% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) HANDSUM
Check Inn $14.99 197 84% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) KishMish Games
COGEN: Sword of Rewind / COGEN: 大鳥こはくと刻の剣 older $24.99 112 67% 3.4k $84k (exactly $83,966) Gemdrops, Inc.
Zombieland VR: Headshot Fever older $19.99 62 83% 1.9k $37k (exactly $37,181) XR Games
Score a goal (Physical football) older $2.99 247 66% 7.4k $22k (exactly $22,156) BulatHard
Poop Clicker older $0.99 725 76% 22k $22k (exactly $21,532) Serge Kornew
Vendetta Forever $19.99 34 76% 1.0k $20k (exactly $20,390) Meatspace Interactive
Huge Jaws older $24.99 23 65% 690 $17k (exactly $17,243) Piece Of Voxel
Sarcophag older $0.99 362 74% 11k $11k (exactly $10,751) Crew Lab
AIRANBLADE $8.99 17 94% 510 $4.6k (exactly $4,585) ANIMABOX
A Duel Hand Disaster: Trackher $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Ask An Enemy Studios
Echobreaker $8.99 12 100% 360 $3.2k (exactly $3,236) Upstream Arcade
Ghostify $3.99 27 81% 810 $3.2k (exactly $3,232) LightTriadGames
Sakamoto Dangerous Barrage $2.99 22 100% 660 $2.0k (exactly $1,973) Retsu Teikoku
Tangled Crisis $5.59 11 100% 330 $1.8k (exactly $1,845) Long Sleeve Games
RC: Car Maniacs $4.99 8 62% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) GH Games

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