Games › Exploration › Exploration + Inventory Management
Should I ship an Exploration Inventory Management game?
Exploration + Inventory Management
Of 309 developers who shipped an Exploration 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.. 793 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×844 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 793 games are announced against 210 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $450 (exactly $450) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $11,242) |
| Top 5% | $401k (exactly $401,001) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 309 |
| Released games | 686 |
| Announced | 793 |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 105% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Inventory Management
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration, Inventory Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 36,667 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 116 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 793 games are announced against 210 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
DREDGE 2023 · $36M 
Ghosts of Tabor 2023 · EA · $6.9M 
HighFleet 2021 · $6.3M 
Home Behind 2 2022 · $3.9M 
Keep Driving 2025 · $3.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DREDGE | older | $24.99 | 47,624 95% | 1.4M | $36M (exactly $35,703,713) | Black Salt Games |
| | Ghosts of Tabor | · EA older | $24.99 | 9,140 70% | 274k | $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) | Combat Waffle Studios |
| | HighFleet | older | $29.99 | 7,024 88% | 211k | $6.3M (exactly $6,319,493) | Konstantin Koshutin |
| | Home Behind 2 | older | $19.99 | 6,585 86% | 198k | $3.9M (exactly $3,949,024) | TPP Studio |
| | Keep Driving | $17.99 | 6,188 93% | 186k | $3.3M (exactly $3,339,664) | YCJY Games | |
 | Two Worlds II HD | older | $24.99 | 3,880 60% | 116k | $2.9M (exactly $2,908,836) | Reality Pump Studios |
 | Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault | $29.99 | 3,146 80% | 94k | $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) | Digital Sun | |
 | Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 | older | $24.99 | 3,634 77% | 109k | $2.7M (exactly $2,724,410) | Games Incubator, Hypnotic Ants |
 | Barn Finders | older | $19.99 | 3,966 82% | 119k | $2.4M (exactly $2,378,410) | Duality Games |
 | Peripeteia | · EA | $24.99 | 3,120 86% | 94k | $2.3M (exactly $2,339,064) | Ninth Exodus |
 | FlyKnight | $5.99 | 10,432 96% | 313k | $1.9M (exactly $1,874,630) | Wabbaboy | |
 | Astrometica | · EA | $19.99 | 2,912 82% | 87k | $1.7M (exactly $1,746,326) | BeryMery |
 | Tormented Souls 2 | $29.99 | 1,675 88% | 50k | $1.5M (exactly $1,506,998) | Dual Effect | |
 | Old Market Simulator | $9.99 | 4,333 87% | 130k | $1.3M (exactly $1,298,600) | Alcedo Games | |
 | Survival Log | $10.99 | 2,709 82% | 81k | $893k (exactly $893,157) | Midnight Workshop | |
 | Echoes of the Living | · EA | $24.99 | 1,005 83% | 30k | $753k (exactly $753,448) | MoonGlint Studio |
 | Used Cars Simulator | · EA | $19.99 | 1,147 79% | 34k | $688k (exactly $687,856) | DreamWay Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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