Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Inventory Management game?

Inventory Management + Futuristic

Of 53 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 114 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 $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $450k, ×968 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 114 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 114 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 53
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $3.8k → $31k → $1.8k → $148 → $898 → $538 (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 53
Bottom 30% $148 (exactly $148)
Median $600 (exactly $600)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,496)
Top 5% $460k (exactly $459,748)
Developers, 2 yr 53
Released games 122
Announced 114
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 down 30% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Futuristic
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 Action, PvE, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 347,382 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $600, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $450k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 114 games are announced against 35 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

ARC Raiders 2025 · $359M Marathon 2026 · $54M Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut 2013 · $15M Wrought Flesh 2021 · $465k Outworld Station 2026 · $460k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ARC Raiders $39.99 299,346 82% 9.0M $359M (exactly $359,125,396) Embark Studios
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut older $19.99 25,392 91% 762k $15M (exactly $15,227,582) Eidos Montreal
Wrought Flesh older $19.99 775 73% 23k $465k (exactly $464,767) Miziziziz
Outworld Station $18.99 807 84% 24k $460k (exactly $459,748) Trickjump Games Ltd
Subterrain: Mines of Titan older $19.99 657 75% 20k $394k (exactly $394,003) Pixellore Inc
FRONT MISSION 2: Remake older $34.99 349 57% 10k $366k (exactly $366,345) Storm Trident S.A.
Heat Death: Survival Train · EA $11.99 709 77% 21k $255k (exactly $255,027) Mass Game Devs
Eventide Matter $5.99 927 95% 28k $167k (exactly $166,582) Ottropi Games
Archean · EA older $19.99 241 87% 7.2k $145k (exactly $144,528) batcholi, FloDKSM
Ketz: Galactic Overlords · EA $8.99 386 71% 12k $104k (exactly $104,104) Keep Games
Planet Killer $12.99 94 79% 2.8k $37k (exactly $36,632) Talisman One Studio
Shell Runner $14.99 80 57% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,976) Reija
Golemworks $6.99 82 90% 2.5k $17k (exactly $17,195) evilalbert
Seven Cities · EA $14.99 32 87% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) IMV Studio

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