Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Inventory Management game?

Inventory Management + Dark Fantasy

Of 79 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy 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.. 213 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×5.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×630 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 213 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 213 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 79
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.5k → $142k → $5.4k → $3.3k → $4.2k → $3.1k → $3.4k (still earning) → $2.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 79
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,293)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $16,566)
Top 5% $396k (exactly $395,736)
Developers, 2 yr 79
Released games 164
Announced 213
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 15% on the market, supply 165% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Dark Fantasy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Inventory Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Dungeon Crawler, Action RPG
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 173,090 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $390k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 213 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Inventory Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds69 devs · median $15k · 62 announced
  2. + LGBTQ+Fair10 devs · median $17k · 13 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair43 devs · median $12k · 47 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair34 devs · median $11k · 44 announced
  5. + WargameFair21 devs · median $4.6k · 20 announced
  6. + Time ManagementFair181 devs · median $2.9k · 228 announced
  7. + DeckbuildingFair98 devs · median $2.5k · 137 announced
  8. + LogicFair70 devs · median $1.7k · 74 announced
  9. + Card GameFair65 devs · median $1.6k · 86 announced
  10. + Trading Card GameFair21 devs · median $1.5k · 28 announced
  11. + Puzzle PlatformerFair20 devs · median $1.1k · 26 announced
  12. + God GameFair16 devs · median $1.1k · 15 announced

All 164 pairs on the Inventory Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Path of Exile 2 2024 · EA · $151M Death Must Die 2023 · EA · $4.4M Two Worlds II HD 2011 · $2.9M Ring of Pain 2020 · $2.0M Achilles: Legends Untold 2023 · $1.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Path of Exile 2 · EA $29.99 167,730 76% 5.0M $151M (exactly $150,906,681) Grinding Gear Games
Death Must Die · EA older $6.99 20,937 90% 628k $4.4M (exactly $4,390,489) Realm Archive
Two Worlds II HD older $24.99 3,880 60% 116k $2.9M (exactly $2,908,836) Reality Pump Studios
Ring of Pain older $19.99 3,256 91% 98k $2.0M (exactly $1,952,623) Simon Boxer, Twice Different
Achilles: Legends Untold older $24.99 2,149 77% 64k $1.6M (exactly $1,611,105) Dark Point Games
GRAVEN older $24.99 1,064 54% 32k $798k (exactly $797,681) Slipgate Ironworks™
Devil Spire Falls · EA $14.99 1,068 94% 32k $480k (exactly $480,280) Ithiro Sumi
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo
The Black Grimoire: Cursebreaker $14.99 880 83% 26k $396k (exactly $395,736) Olipa Games
Arx Fatalis older $4.99 2,443 87% 73k $366k (exactly $365,717) Arkane Studios
Into the Necrovale $14.99 584 84% 18k $263k (exactly $262,625) CLYDE games
Concubine · EA $14.99 517 81% 16k $232k (exactly $232,495) Upgrade Entertainment
Moonsigil Atlas $19.99 261 81% 7.8k $157k (exactly $156,522) Snake Tower Games
Tower of Mask $10.99 357 95% 11k $118k (exactly $117,703) Papertip Studio
Loot Tycoon · EA $6.99 544 71% 16k $114k (exactly $114,077) Parallel Portal
Peregrino $16.99 174 65% 5.2k $89k (exactly $88,688) Inverge Studios

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