Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Hidden Object?

Inventory Management + Hidden Object

Of 61 developers who shipped an Inventory Management Hidden Object 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.. 100 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.4 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×269 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 100 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 100 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 61
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.1k → $2.6k → $299 → $2.2k → $2.1k → $1.5k → $1.6k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 61
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,617)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Top 5% $128k (exactly $127,760)
Developers, 2 yr 61
Released games 160
Announced 100
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 50% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Inventory Management, Hidden Object; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Exploration, Resource Management
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 5,119 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 $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. Nearly all of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 100 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Inventory Management with a different second tag, 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

Echoes of the Living 2025 · EA · $753k Center Station Simulator 2024 · EA · $332k Sort Them Ducks 2026 · $263k NO-SKIN 2025 · $257k Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 2026 · $128k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Center Station Simulator · EA older $19.99 554 87% 17k $332k (exactly $332,234) Nightmare Phoenix
Sort Them Ducks $5.99 1,461 92% 44k $263k (exactly $262,542) Mr.Duck
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 $7.99 533 98% 16k $128k (exactly $127,760) NovaSoft Interactive Ltd.
Climber: Sky is the Limit older $21.99 142 69% 4.3k $94k (exactly $93,677) A2 Softworks, Art Games Studio S.A.
Treasure Beach $9.99 271 81% 8.1k $81k (exactly $81,219) Rogue Duck Interactive
Neat! $9.99 224 71% 6.7k $67k (exactly $67,133) Korova Games
The Lacerator $9.99 161 99% 4.8k $48k (exactly $48,252) Games From The Abyss
Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset older $14.99 102 80% 3.1k $46k (exactly $45,869) Brave Giant LTD
ShoppingMall: Manager Simulator $14.99 95 45% 2.9k $43k (exactly $42,722) Geekon
Dreadway $6.99 101 67% 3.0k $21k (exactly $21,180) ZweiBier Indie
Gun Store Simulator · EA $9.99 41 56% 1.2k $12k (exactly $12,288) Geekon

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