Games › Visual Novel › Visual Novel + Time Travel
Should I ship a Time-Travel Visual Novel?
Visual Novel + Time Travel
Of 55 developers who shipped a Time-Travel Visual Novel 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.. 66 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×5.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×699 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 66 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,518) |
| Top 25% | $36k (exactly $35,608) |
| Top 5% | $332k (exactly $332,234) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 55 |
| Released games | 152 |
| Announced | 66 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Visual Novel
- effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art
- Time Travel
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Visual Novel; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Choose Your Own Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $20.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $20.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 5,271 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Visual Novel with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + City BuilderStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + TrainsStrong odds
- + Souls-likeFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + JRPGFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DiplomacyFair
Comparable games
STEINS;GATE 2016 · $23M 
Raging Loop 2017 · $9.5M 
STEINS;GATE 0 2018 · $8.3M 
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games 2017 · $6.3M 
GNOSIA 2022 · $3.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | STEINS;GATE | older | $29.99 | 25,289 97% | 759k | $23M (exactly $22,752,513) | MAGES. Inc. |
| | Raging Loop | older | $29.99 | 10,568 95% | 317k | $9.5M (exactly $9,508,030) | KEMCO |
| | STEINS;GATE 0 | older | $34.99 | 7,916 95% | 237k | $8.3M (exactly $8,309,425) | MAGES. Inc. |
| | Zero Escape: The Nonary Games | older | $29.99 | 7,007 92% | 210k | $6.3M (exactly $6,304,198) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. |
| | GNOSIA | older | $24.99 | 4,855 93% | 146k | $3.6M (exactly $3,639,794) | Petit Depotto |
 | STEINS;GATE ELITE | older | $59.99 | 1,584 90% | 48k | $2.9M (exactly $2,850,725) | MAGES. Inc. |
 | STEINS;GATE: Linear Bounded Phenogram | older | $59.99 | 1,278 96% | 38k | $2.3M (exactly $2,300,017) | MAGES. Inc. |
 | ISLAND | older | $39.99 | 1,541 94% | 46k | $1.8M (exactly $1,848,738) | Frontwing |
 | STEINS;GATE: My Darling's Embrace | older | $29.99 | 1,802 95% | 54k | $1.6M (exactly $1,621,259) | MAGES. Inc. |
 | STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT | $59.99 | 594 88% | 18k | $1.1M (exactly $1,069,022) | MAGES. Inc. | |
 | Rue Valley | $14.99 | 1,905 69% | 57k | $857k (exactly $856,678) | Emotion Spark Studio | |
 | The Posthumous Investigation | $19.99 | 554 94% | 17k | $332k (exactly $332,234) | Mother Gaia Studio | |
 | Sexbot | $14.99 | 723 86% | 22k | $325k (exactly $325,133) | Llamamann Games | |
 | Seedsow Lullaby | $20.99 | 472 97% | 14k | $297k (exactly $297,218) | iMel Inc. | |
 | Yet Another Killing Game | $16.99 | 242 96% | 7.3k | $123k (exactly $123,347) | Soulseer Studios | |
 | My Fav Chill Streamer Dies a Million Times｜ゆるゆる生配信する推しは100万回死ぬ | $34.99 | 114 92% | 3.4k | $120k (exactly $119,666) | VELUX STUDIO | |
 | Amelie falls over and over again ~ An endless week in Magic Academy | $13.99 | 257 80% | 7.7k | $108k (exactly $107,863) | AVANTGARDE | |
 | A Tithe in Blood | $14.99 | 196 86% | 5.9k | $88k (exactly $88,141) | Studio Élan, Studio Elan | |
 | Mech Academy | $9.99 | 214 91% | 6.4k | $64k (exactly $64,136) | Space Samurai Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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