Do I ship it?

GamesShooterShooter + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Shooter?

Shooter + Time Management

Of 31 developers who shipped a Time Management Shooter 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×396 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 50 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 50 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $600 → $418 → $150 → $839 → $249k → $1.2k (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $4.0k (exactly $4,047)
Top 5% $249k (exactly $248,751)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 66
Announced 50
Effort 6 / 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 170% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Shooter, Time Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, FPS, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
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 86% positive over 4,145 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $4.0k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair23 devs · median $9.8k · 17 announced
  2. + CollectathonFair69 devs · median $1.4k · 64 announced
  3. + VampiresFair38 devs · median $1.3k · 41 announced
  4. + Walking SimulatorFair68 devs · median $1.2k · 62 announced
  5. + IdlerFair70 devs · median $836 · 59 announced
  6. + Match 3Fair15 devs · median $719 · 5 announced
  7. + SnowFair22 devs · median $570 · 23 announced
  8. + Boss RushFair16 devs · median $537 · 20 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair85 devs · median $479 · 88 announced
  10. + ArcadeLong shot1,151 devs · median $419 · 1,332 announced
  11. + Score AttackLong shot372 devs · median $300 · 352 announced
  12. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds25 devs · median $139k · 45 announced

All 229 pairs on the Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deadly Days: Roadtrip · EA $14.99 2,855 87% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894) Pixelsplit
CURE - A Hospital Simulator · EA $9.99 830 86% 25k $249k (exactly $248,751) Sentinel Games
Stop Dead · EA older $14.99 79 94% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,526) Gridsnap Games LLC
Crazy Islands $13.99 73 68% 2.2k $31k (exactly $30,638) Ge-Aivan
极乐不羡仙 $5.99 164 65% 4.9k $29k (exactly $29,471) 仙常居ソフト
We Are One older $9.99 75 93% 2.3k $22k (exactly $22,478) Flat Head Studio
Flirting Goddesses by AFK $2.99 104 96% 3.1k $9.3k (exactly $9,329) God's City Days
WAVECADE older $9.99 27 92% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) Andrew Spalato, Lewis Spalato
5 nights at Timokha 5: Island $2.99 75 97% 2.3k $6.7k (exactly $6,728) Team GZ, VADIM CHURILOV
ReTrime $15.99 12 100% 360 $5.8k (exactly $5,756) DoubleSystem
BATTLERCORE: TEAM BLAZER $14.99 9 66% 270 $4.0k (exactly $4,047) SCARLET-G
GunX - Lock and Load $14.99 7 57% 210 $3.1k (exactly $3,148) Irusu Studios, Irusu Studios
Negative Time $4.99 16 100% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Round Owl

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