Do I ship it?

GamesTransportationTransportation + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Transportation game?

Transportation + Time Management

Of 40 developers who shipped a Time Management Transportation 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.. 61 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.2k, ×5.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $95k, ×152 the market median. Revenue is up 245% on the market; 61 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 245% on the market, 61 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Transportation + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $79k → $802 → $11k → $17k → $9.6k → $300 → $5.3k (still earning) → $3.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Transportation + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $3.2k (exactly $3,236)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,058)
Top 5% $95k (exactly $95,361)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 85
Announced 61
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 245% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Transportation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Transportation, Time Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Driving
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing, Minimalist
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 8,997 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.2k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $95k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Character CustomizationFair19 devs · median $7.2k · 24 announced
  2. + PvPFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + 3D PlatformerFair13 devs · median $3.1k · 12 announced
  4. + RacingFair39 devs · median $2.3k · 35 announced
  5. + Action-AdventureFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  6. + LogicFair29 devs · median $1.7k · 30 announced
  7. + ArcadeFair37 devs · median $839 · 32 announced
  8. + IdlerFair15 devs · median $747 · 20 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds14 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  11. + Level EditorPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  12. + Life SimPoor odds24 devs · median $27k · 48 announced

All 53 pairs on the Transportation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Bus $39.99 7,831 73% 235k $9.4M (exactly $9,394,851) TML-Studios
City Bus Manager older $29.99 2,405 90% 72k $2.2M (exactly $2,163,778) PeDePe GbR
Ships At Sea · EA older $24.99 2,479 69% 74k $1.9M (exactly $1,858,506) Misc Games
Rail Route older $24.99 2,400 88% 72k $1.8M (exactly $1,799,280) Bitrich.info
Fly Corp older $14.99 3,112 85% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,399,466) KishMish Games
I am an Air Traffic Controller 4 older $59.99 566 79% 17k $1.0M (exactly $1,018,630) TechnoBrain
Train Valley older $9.99 2,621 89% 79k $786k (exactly $785,514) Alexey Davydov, Sergey Dvoynikov, Timof… (Alexey Davydov, Sergey Dvoynikov, Timofey Shargorodskiy, Flazm)
Mini Airways - ATC simulator older $9.99 1,339 92% 40k $401k (exactly $401,298) CCC Games, Erabit
Transport INC older $11.99 1,014 69% 30k $365k (exactly $364,736) DIGIFOX
Train Valley World older $19.99 247 69% 7.4k $148k (exactly $148,126) Flazm
Train Valley Origins $11.95 266 75% 8.0k $95k (exactly $95,361) Flazm
Global Magnates: Shipping Tycoon $12.99 116 64% 3.5k $45k (exactly $45,205) Aquila Chengdu
PROFITS 2167: Planetary Resource Optimization & Freight Infrastructure Technician Simulator · EA $6.99 209 98% 6.3k $44k (exactly $43,827) Simple Software Solutions
ATC Ground Point $15.99 77 81% 2.3k $37k (exactly $36,937) Blueon
Parcel Delivery Simulator $6.99 114 61% 3.4k $24k (exactly $23,906) Digital Melody
Short Trip $1.99 280 98% 8.4k $17k (exactly $16,716) Alexander Perrin
Airline Ops · EA $14.99 37 29% 1.1k $17k (exactly $16,639) Smoky Bay Studio
Uh Oh Airlines · EA $17.99 26 69% 780 $14k (exactly $14,032) Bomas Game Studio
Octohill Ski Tycoon $8.99 41 85% 1.2k $11k (exactly $11,058) DeuxBaguettes

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