Do I ship it?

Games › Time Manipulation › Time Manipulation + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Time Manipulation game?

Time Manipulation + Space

Of 22 developers who shipped a Space Time Manipulation 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.. 36 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $6.2k, ×10 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 36 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 36 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Manipulation + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $358 → $539 → $299 → $1.6k → $210 → $882 → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Manipulation + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $2.1k (exactly $2,063)
Top 5% $6.3k (exactly $6,294)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 88
Announced 36
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.80

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 45% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Space
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Time Manipulation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$9.80 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $9.80.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 262 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $2.0k, 1 in 20 over $6.2k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Time Manipulation with a different setting or mood, 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

The Entropy Centre 2022 · $2.0M UnLoop 2025 · EA · $88k her tears were my light 2022 · $70k PERIMETER: Legate Edition 2024 · $43k Pompom 2022 · $36k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Entropy Centre older $19.99 3,359 89% 101k $2.0M (exactly $2,014,392) Stubby Games
UnLoop · EA $17.99 163 98% 4.9k $88k (exactly $87,971) Superposition NULL
her tears were my light older $2.99 780 99% 23k $70k (exactly $69,966) NomnomNami
PERIMETER: Legate Edition older $9.99 143 92% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) K-D Lab
Pompom older $9.99 119 86% 3.6k $36k (exactly $35,664) TOMO CAMP
David. older $1.99 581 79% 17k $35k (exactly $34,686) Fermenter Games
Blast-off older $2.99 379 86% 11k $34k (exactly $33,996) Quad-Games
Flat Earth Simulator older $7.99 108 72% 3.2k $26k (exactly $25,888) The Truthtellers
Meet me at NooN older $9.99 55 100% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) Pandaroo Interactive
Spaceport Trading Company · EA older $14.99 33 87% 990 $15k (exactly $14,840) Digital Tectonics, LLC
Accretion $9.99 21 38% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) ValarFerys
Forgotten 23 $12.99 14 92% 420 $5.5k (exactly $5,456) KovalGames
Paradox Guardians · EA $12.99 13 38% 390 $5.1k (exactly $5,066) Paraguard
AIRANBLADE $8.99 17 94% 510 $4.6k (exactly $4,585) ANIMABOX
Captain Puff MacFly $2.99 23 95% 690 $2.1k (exactly $2,063) MVCAO Studios
Echo Resonance $8.99 4 100% 120 $1.1k (exactly $1,079) AZOR7
Cosmic Waves $9.80 3 66% 90 $882 (exactly $882) Squirrel Knight
Rocket Simulator $8.99 3 33% 90 $809 (exactly $809) Digital Traveller Praha
Chrono Weaver $24.99 1 100% 30 $750 (exactly $750) Ivory Crow Games LLC

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