Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Inventory Management game?

Combat + Inventory Management

Of 215 developers who shipped a Combat Inventory Management 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.. 566 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×696 the market median. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 566 games are announced against 138 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 70% on the market, 566 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 215
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $3.8k → $1.5k → $479 → $861 → $3.1k → $2.2k (still earning) → $809 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 215
Bottom 30% $294 (exactly $294)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $13,941)
Top 5% $437k (exactly $437,181)
Developers, 2 yr 215
Released games 503
Announced 566
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 70% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat, Inventory Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvE, RPG
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 350,606 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $430k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 96 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 566 games are announced against 138 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

ARC Raiders 2025 · $359M Stranded: Alien Dawn 2023 · $10M Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M Ghosts of Tabor 2023 · EA · $6.9M Sephiria 2026 · $6.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ARC Raiders $39.99 299,346 82% 9.0M $359M (exactly $359,125,396) Embark Studios
Stranded: Alien Dawn older $34.99 9,715 84% 291k $10M (exactly $10,197,836) Haemimont Games
Backpack Battles $14.99 18,933 91% 568k $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) PlayWithFurcifer
Ghosts of Tabor · EA older $24.99 9,140 70% 274k $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) Combat Waffle Studios
Sephiria $17.99 11,582 94% 347k $6.3M (exactly $6,250,805) TEAM HORAY
Melvor Idle older $9.99 14,630 90% 439k $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) Games by Malcs
Survive the Nights $19.99 4,719 68% 142k $2.8M (exactly $2,829,984) a2z Interactive
Lost Ruins older $19.99 4,643 86% 139k $2.8M (exactly $2,784,407) ALTARI GAMES
FlyKnight $5.99 10,432 96% 313k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,630) Wabbaboy
Vagante older $14.99 4,118 90% 124k $1.9M (exactly $1,851,865) Nuke Nine
Witchspire · EA $22.99 1,849 82% 55k $1.3M (exactly $1,275,255) Envar Games
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Dagger Directive $19.99 802 83% 24k $481k (exactly $480,959) Arcane Alpacas LLC
Devil Spire Falls · EA $14.99 1,068 94% 32k $480k (exactly $480,280) Ithiro Sumi
Cargo Hunters · EA $19.99 739 82% 22k $443k (exactly $443,178) Order Of Meta

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