Games › Space Sim › Space Sim + Time Management
Should I ship a Time Management Space Sim?
Space Sim + Time Management
Of 25 developers who shipped a Time Management Space Sim 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.. 34 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $31k, ×51 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 34 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $538 (exactly $538) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) |
| Top 5% | $32k (exactly $31,955) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 58 |
| Announced | 34 |
| 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 80% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Space Sim
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Time Management
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Space Sim, Time Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Sandbox
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 911 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Space Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DestructionFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
- + WarFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + SportsFair
- + DiplomacyLong shot
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Strategy RPGPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Vanguard Galaxy | · EA | $8.99 | 565 90% | 17k | $152k (exactly $152,380) | Bat Roost Games |
| | The Final Earth 2 | older | $9.99 | 407 97% | 12k | $122k (exactly $121,978) | Florian van Strien |
| | Space Mechanic Simulator | older | $19.99 | 115 60% | 3.5k | $69k (exactly $68,966) | Atomic Jelly |
| | SYMMETRY | older | $11.99 | 147 53% | 4.4k | $53k (exactly $52,876) | Sleepless Clinic |
| | Legitimate Space Corp Simulator LLC | $12.99 | 82 69% | 2.5k | $32k (exactly $31,955) | VHornet Games | |
| | Riftborne | · EA | $7.99 | 108 91% | 3.2k | $26k (exactly $25,888) | Pitio Productions |
| | A Long Journey to an Uncertain End | older | $24.99 | 33 75% | 990 | $25k (exactly $24,740) | Crispy Creative |
| | Startenders: Intergalactic Bartending | older | $14.99 | 48 85% | 1.4k | $22k (exactly $21,586) | Foggy Box Games |
| | Space Sprouts | $10.99 | 51 96% | 1.5k | $17k (exactly $16,815) | Schleuder Games | |
| | soul Interface | · EA | $12.99 | 25 76% | 750 | $9.7k (exactly $9,742) | soulless technologies |
| | Cam Star! | $4.99 | 41 68% | 1.2k | $6.1k (exactly $6,138) | PINKU! | |
| | Space Supermarket Simulator | $9.99 | 16 75% | 480 | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) | Mythforge Games | |
| | The EverFloating Island | $19.99 | 6 33% | 180 | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) | GU GAMES | |
| | After the Crash : Colony | · EA | $6.99 | 14 78% | 420 | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) | Penche Software |
| | The Chaser's Voyage | $19.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | Bright at Midnight: A Game Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.