Do I ship it?

Games › Fishing › Fishing + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fishing Inventory Management game?

Fishing + Inventory Management

Of 35 developers who shipped a Fishing 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.. 75 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×2622 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 75 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 75 announced, ×4.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Fishing + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.9k → $1.5k → $230k → $1.7k → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Fishing + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,153)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,406)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,245,577)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 64
Announced 75
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 20% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Fishing
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Fishing, Inventory Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Idler
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, First-Person, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 22,468 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 7 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FarmingFair31 devs · median $18k · 26 announced
  2. + AutomationFair40 devs · median $3.4k · 46 announced
  3. + IncrementalFair64 devs · median $1.8k · 87 announced
  4. + Score AttackFair11 devs · median $719 · 8 announced
  5. + ArcadeFair51 devs · median $716 · 64 announced
  6. + Co-opPoor odds39 devs · median $70k · 73 announced
  7. + RomancePoor odds14 devs · median $47k · 29 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds34 devs · median $36k · 85 announced
  9. + EconomyPoor odds49 devs · median $23k · 66 announced
  10. + CapitalismPoor odds15 devs · median $23k · 18 announced
  11. + AgriculturePoor odds48 devs · median $18k · 80 announced
  12. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $15k · 30 announced

All 77 pairs on the Fishing page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

DREDGE 2023 · $36M Melvor Idle 2021 · $4.4M FlyKnight 2025 · $1.9M Ultimate Fishing® Simulator 2 2025 · $1.2M Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping 2025 · $761k
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
Melvor Idle older $9.99 14,630 90% 439k $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) Games by Malcs
FlyKnight $5.99 10,432 96% 313k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,630) Wabbaboy
Ultimate Fishing® Simulator 2 $19.99 2,077 66% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,245,577) Silent Bear Studio, SHINING GAMES
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping $7.49 3,386 95% 102k $761k (exactly $760,834) Lunheim Studios
Fish to Dish: Idle Sushi $5.99 2,525 96% 76k $454k (exactly $453,742) Kygua Tech
UMIGARI | ウミガリ $12.99 1,029 82% 31k $401k (exactly $401,001) Chilla's Art
Cornerpond $2.99 2,567 97% 77k $230k (exactly $230,260) foolsroom
Lighthouse Keeper older $11.99 336 81% 10k $121k (exactly $120,859) Stratera Games
FATE: The Cursed King older $7.99 484 93% 15k $116k (exactly $116,015) WildTangent
Frost Survival VR $14.99 161 89% 4.8k $72k (exactly $72,402) Wenkly Studio Sp. z o.o.
Apocalypse: The Last RV · EA $4.99 159 68% 4.8k $24k (exactly $23,802) 光年切片工作室
Yollen $3.99 112 66% 3.4k $13k (exactly $13,406) axilirate
Fathom's End · EA $19.99 20 95% 600 $12k (exactly $11,994) Lonely Anchor

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