Do I ship it?

Games › Time Management › Time Management + Underground

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underground Time Management game?

Time Management + Underground

Only 12 developers shipped an Underground 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, Coal LLC, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×6.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $680; 1 in 20 cleared $600k, ×1271 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 25 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 25 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Time Management + Underground
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $36k → $1.8k → $7.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Time Management + Underground: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $674 (exactly $674)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,267)
Top 25% $36k (exactly $35,600)
Top 5% $604k (exactly $603,947)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 29
Announced 25
Effort 4 / 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 down 90% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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
Underground
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
Price point
$8.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 1,967 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $680, median $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $600k.

3 in 10 developers made under $680. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

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. + Time TravelFair17 devs · median $2.2k · 19 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair27 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  7. + LootFair34 devs · median $1.5k · 47 announced
  8. + Turn-Based TacticsFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  9. + AutomationFair162 devs · median $1.2k · 191 announced
  10. + Bullet HellFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  11. + ThrillerFair42 devs · median $1.1k · 65 announced
  12. + Artificial IntelligenceFair53 devs · median $1.0k · 65 announced

All 179 pairs on the Time Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Coal LLC 2025 · $604k Deep Corp 2026 · EA · $131k Scamper 2023 · $52k Shokudo Underworld 2024 · $48k Deep Among the Swarm 2024 · $36k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Coal LLC $14.99 1,343 92% 40k $604k (exactly $603,947) Bye Bye Ocean
Deep Corp · EA $11.99 365 89% 11k $131k (exactly $131,290) KishMish Games
Scamper older $19.99 87 87% 2.6k $52k (exactly $52,174) Bezbro Games
Shokudo Underworld older $5.99 266 83% 8.0k $48k (exactly $47,800) Miluku Inc.
Deep Among the Swarm $8.99 132 85% 4.0k $36k (exactly $35,600) Pebble Mountain Games
The Candle $4.99 71 91% 2.1k $11k (exactly $10,629) Candle Dev
Rift Miner $7.99 31 93% 930 $7.4k (exactly $7,431) TIDERAFT
Metro Architect · EA $9.90 11 54% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,267) Northern21 Studio
FallNation Lost Stories · EA $15.99 4 100% 120 $1.9k (exactly $1,919) FivexGames
Gnomes Garden: Black Stones $14.99 4 100% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) 8floor ltd
Dig Inc. · EA $7.49 3 66% 90 $674 (exactly $674) Tematus
15 Minutes $5.99 3 0% 90 $539 (exactly $539) Construct Games

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