Do I ship it?

GamesTime ManagementTime Management + Time Travel

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time-Travel Time Management game?

Time Management + Time Travel

Only 17 developers shipped a Time-Travel Time Management game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, UnLoop, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $120. Revenue is up 1245% on the market; 19 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 1245% on the market, 19 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Time Travel
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $91k → $0 → $26k → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Time Travel: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,248)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 5% $88k (exactly $87,971)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 51
Announced 19
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.50

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 1245% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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 Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Time Travel
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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 Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Puzzle
Price point
$5.50 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $5.50.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 418 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $87k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Time Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dungeon CrawlerFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair15 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  3. + Inventory ManagementFair181 devs · median $2.9k · 228 announced
  4. + AgricultureFair57 devs · median $2.3k · 73 announced
  5. + ZombiesFair27 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  6. + LootFair34 devs · median $1.5k · 47 announced
  7. + Turn-Based TacticsFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  8. + AutomationFair162 devs · median $1.2k · 191 announced
  9. + Bullet HellFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  10. + ThrillerFair42 devs · median $1.1k · 65 announced
  11. + Artificial IntelligenceFair53 devs · median $1.0k · 65 announced
  12. + Mystery DungeonFair11 devs · median $898 · 8 announced

All 179 pairs on the Time Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
A Perfect Day older $19.99 1,733 84% 52k $1.0M (exactly $1,039,280) Perfect Day Studio
Accident older $14.99 1,462 76% 44k $657k (exactly $657,461) Duality Games, Spirit Games Studio
River Town Factory older $14.99 1,277 88% 38k $574k (exactly $574,267) iFAction Studio
MECHANICA: A Ballad of the Rabbit and Mercury older $19.99 830 95% 25k $498k (exactly $497,751) Loser/s
Elsinore older $9.99 345 95% 10k $103k (exactly $103,396) Golden Glitch
Timemelters older $19.99 152 92% 4.6k $91k (exactly $91,154) Autoexec Games
UnLoop · EA $17.99 163 98% 4.9k $88k (exactly $87,971) Superposition NULL
Decide 4 God $29.99 49 93% 1.5k $44k (exactly $44,085) Miracle Moon
Time Snatcher Handy $9.99 88 96% 2.6k $26k (exactly $26,374) PulleyBun, ClockworkCats
We Are One older $9.99 75 93% 2.3k $22k (exactly $22,478) Flat Head Studio
Loopbound · EA $5.50 36 72% 1.1k $5.9k (exactly $5,940) Escheria
Panta Rhei - Guardian of Time $9.99 18 94% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Sappalot Studio, Omme Animation, Nordic… (Sappalot Studio, Omme Animation, Nordic Scoring)
Clockfall · EA $9.99 18 94% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Rever Games GmbH
Code Tycoon $9.99 15 80% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Mennen Games
Negative Time $4.99 16 100% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Round Owl
Movierooms - Cinema Management · EA $14.99 5 80% 150 $2.2k (exactly $2,248) Mad Pumpkins
Morse vs. Horse $4.99 10 100% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Company with your friends

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