Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Inventory Management game?

Inventory Management + Dystopian

Of 28 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 51 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $470k, ×1010 the market median. Revenue is up 145% on the market; 51 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 145% on the market, 51 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.8k → $36k → $719 → $989 (still earning) → $19k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $390 (exactly $390)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $27,086)
Top 5% $480k (exactly $479,760)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 54
Announced 51
Effort 4 / 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 145% on the market, supply 265% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Dystopian
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
Inventory Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 5,330 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $900, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $470k.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut 2013 · $15M Ghosts of Tabor 2023 · EA · $6.9M Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition 2007 · $2.9M Peripeteia 2025 · EA · $2.3M Scavland 2026 · EA · $480k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut older $19.99 25,392 91% 762k $15M (exactly $15,227,582) Eidos Montreal
Ghosts of Tabor · EA older $24.99 9,140 70% 274k $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) Combat Waffle Studios
Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition older $6.99 13,740 94% 412k $2.9M (exactly $2,881,278) Ion Storm
Peripeteia · EA $24.99 3,120 86% 94k $2.3M (exactly $2,339,064) Ninth Exodus
Scavland · EA $19.99 800 81% 24k $480k (exactly $479,760) NoShadow
Cargo Hunters · EA $19.99 739 82% 22k $443k (exactly $443,178) Order Of Meta
Necrosis: Dawn of Dread $9.99 133 85% 4.0k $40k (exactly $39,860) Mike Schroder, Swole Software
Shell Runner $14.99 80 57% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,976) Reija
Submerge · EA $9.99 92 61% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,572) Neuron Activation
Underchoice $7.99 113 72% 3.4k $27k (exactly $27,086) TG Indie
UNHUMAN $3.99 161 73% 4.8k $19k (exactly $19,272) Kinda Lowkey Games
HOPE 01 · EA $11.99 43 88% 1.3k $15k (exactly $15,467) Bending Boy Games
Dystopian Pet Simulator · EA $5.99 49 93% 1.5k $8.8k (exactly $8,805) dinca.team

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