Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fantasy Inventory Management game?

Inventory Management + Fantasy

Of 247 developers who shipped a 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.. 515 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×833 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 515 games are announced against 156 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 515 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 247
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.2k → $2.6k → $3.2k → $1.6k → $3.6k → $4.1k → $1.1k (still earning) → $809 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 247
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,888)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $14,809)
Top 5% $396k (exactly $395,736)
Developers, 2 yr 247
Released games 547
Announced 515
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 down 10% on the market, supply 70% 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
Fantasy
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Roguelike, Strategy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 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 $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 53,258 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 $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $390k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 108 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 515 games are announced against 156 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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

ARK: Survival Ascended 2023 · EA · $144M Travellers Rest 2020 · EA · $8.9M Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M Sephiria 2026 · $6.3M Backpack Hero 2023 · $4.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ARK: Survival Ascended · EA older $44.99 106,761 60% 3.2M $144M (exactly $144,095,322) Studio Wildcard, Grove Street Games, In… (Studio Wildcard, Grove Street Games, Instinct Games)
Travellers Rest · EA older $17.99 16,538 87% 496k $8.9M (exactly $8,925,559) Isolated Games
Backpack Battles $14.99 18,933 91% 568k $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) PlayWithFurcifer
Sephiria $17.99 11,582 94% 347k $6.3M (exactly $6,250,805) TEAM HORAY
Backpack Hero older $19.99 7,423 85% 223k $4.5M (exactly $4,451,573) Jaspel
Death Must Die · EA older $6.99 20,937 90% 628k $4.4M (exactly $4,390,489) Realm Archive
Melvor Idle older $9.99 14,630 90% 439k $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) Games by Malcs
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
FlyKnight $5.99 10,432 96% 313k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,630) Wabbaboy
Witchspire · EA $22.99 1,849 82% 55k $1.3M (exactly $1,275,255) Envar Games
Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot $14.99 2,588 82% 78k $1.2M (exactly $1,163,824) Hamma Studios
Raiders of Blackveil · EA $19.99 1,353 60% 41k $811k (exactly $811,394) Wombo Games
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Lootbound $14.99 1,248 77% 37k $561k (exactly $561,226) ArtDock
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games

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