Do I ship it?

Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Class-Based game?

Class-Based + Inventory Management

Of 40 developers who shipped an Inventory Management Class-Based 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.. 107 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×1.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $780; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×245 the market median. Revenue is up 355% on the market; 107 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 355% on the market, 107 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based + Inventory 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: $3.2k → $1.4k → $1.1k → $4.5k → $22k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $779 (exactly $779)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,728)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $21,586)
Top 5% $367k (exactly $367,405)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 84
Announced 107
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 355% on the market, supply 245% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Inventory 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Class-Based, Inventory Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Character Customization, PvE
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 46,787 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $780, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $780. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 107 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Class-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  2. + Bullet HeavenFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + SupernaturalLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  4. + 2D PlatformerLong shot26 devs · median $539 · 30 announced
  5. + FPSPoor odds22 devs · median $70k · 70 announced
  6. + MMORPGPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds18 devs · median $33k · 44 announced
  8. + WarPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 59 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds16 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds17 devs · median $13k · 42 announced
  11. + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  12. + WargamePoor odds14 devs · median $9.4k · 28 announced

All 111 pairs on the Class-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Marathon 2026 · $54M Vagante 2018 · $1.9M Down with the Ship 2026 · EA · $367k Expeditions: Samurai 2026 · EA · $240k Tower Walker: MMO Grind Simulator 2023 · $81k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
Vagante older $14.99 4,118 90% 124k $1.9M (exactly $1,851,865) Nuke Nine
Down with the Ship · EA $14.99 817 93% 25k $367k (exactly $367,405) Iron Anchor Games
Expeditions: Samurai · EA $29.99 267 59% 8.0k $240k (exactly $240,220) Campfire Cabal
Tower Walker: MMO Grind Simulator older $9.99 270 77% 8.1k $81k (exactly $80,919) Raptor Claw Games, Millendream
Trolddom $9.99 204 94% 6.1k $61k (exactly $61,139) Plant Based Games
The Adventurers $12.99 150 78% 4.5k $58k (exactly $58,455) Eternal Vigilance Entertainment
Mushi $14.99 97 74% 2.9k $44k (exactly $43,621) Raptor Claw Games
Warman older $19.99 65 76% 2.0k $39k (exactly $38,980) Oleg Dammer
ASTRO AQUA KITTY older $14.99 79 87% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,526) TIKIPOD
Luck & Loot $7.99 138 90% 4.1k $33k (exactly $33,079) SMARTcreative
Legends of Amberland III: The Crimson Tower $19.99 53 98% 1.6k $32k (exactly $31,784) Silver Lemur Games
Relic Abyss · EA $8.99 94 80% 2.8k $25k (exactly $25,352) Reverse Loop
Enarian Online $14.99 48 83% 1.4k $22k (exactly $21,586) Enarian Online

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