Games › Simulation › Simulation + Time Management
Should I ship a Time Management Simulation game?
Simulation + Time Management
Of 972 developers who shipped a Time Management Simulation 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.. 1,566 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×463 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 1,566 games are announced against 625 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,738) |
| Top 5% | $291k (exactly $290,506) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 972 |
| Released games | 2,111 |
| Announced | 1,566 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 35% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Time Management
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation, Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Resource Management, Life Sim
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 135,853 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 430 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,566 games are announced against 625 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Farming Simulator 25 | $29.99 | 39,681 87% | 1.2M | $36M (exactly $35,700,996) | GIANTS Software | |
| | Path Of Wuxia | older | $34.99 | 28,286 78% | 849k | $30M (exactly $29,691,814) | 香港商河洛互動娛樂股份有限公司 |
| | Sultan's Game | $24.99 | 25,061 93% | 752k | $19M (exactly $18,788,232) | Double Cross | |
| | Volcano Princess | older | $10.99 | 45,019 97% | 1.4M | $15M (exactly $14,842,764) | 养蛋人 Egg Hatcher |
| | Summer Memories | older | $19.99 | 24,113 92% | 723k | $14M (exactly $14,460,566) | Dojin Otome |
| | 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 | |
| | The Bus | $39.99 | 7,831 73% | 235k | $9.4M (exactly $9,394,851) | TML-Studios | |
| | 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 |
| | Gamble With Your Friends | $7.99 | 18,883 89% | 566k | $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) | TEAM GWYF | |
| | Tiny Bookshop | $19.99 | 6,967 96% | 209k | $4.2M (exactly $4,178,110) | neoludic 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 | |
| | Magical Princess | $14.99 | 7,636 96% | 229k | $3.4M (exactly $3,433,909) | Neotro Inc., MAGI Inc. | |
| | News Tower | $24.99 | 4,316 94% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,235,705) | Sparrow Night |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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