Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Inventory Management game?

Inventory Management + Horror

Of 145 developers who shipped a Horror 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.. 314 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×844 the market median. Revenue is up 125% on the market; 314 games are announced against 99 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 125% on the market, 314 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 145
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.0k → $1.4k → $4.5k → $1.8k → $2.7k → $1.8k → $1.6k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 145
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,851)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $21,180)
Top 5% $401k (exactly $401,001)
Developers, 2 yr 145
Released games 294
Announced 314
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 125% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Horror
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Survival Horror, Action, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 284,945 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $400k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 314 games are announced against 99 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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

Resident Evil Requiem 2026 · $225M Path of Exile 2 2024 · EA · $151M Resident Evil 4 (2005) 2014 · $47M DREDGE 2023 · $36M Blood West 2023 · $4.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Resident Evil Requiem $69.99 106,931 95% 3.2M $225M (exactly $224,523,021) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Path of Exile 2 · EA $29.99 167,730 76% 5.0M $151M (exactly $150,906,681) Grinding Gear Games
Resident Evil 4 (2005) older $19.99 78,502 94% 2.4M $47M (exactly $47,077,649) Capcom
DREDGE older $24.99 47,624 95% 1.4M $36M (exactly $35,703,713) Black Salt Games
Blood West older $24.99 6,132 90% 184k $4.6M (exactly $4,597,160) Hyperstrange
Daymare: 1998 older $29.99 3,445 69% 103k $3.1M (exactly $3,099,466) Invader Studios
Lost Ruins older $19.99 4,643 86% 139k $2.8M (exactly $2,784,407) ALTARI GAMES
Peripeteia · EA $24.99 3,120 86% 94k $2.3M (exactly $2,339,064) Ninth Exodus
Ring of Pain older $19.99 3,256 91% 98k $2.0M (exactly $1,952,623) Simon Boxer, Twice Different
Tormented Souls 2 $29.99 1,675 88% 50k $1.5M (exactly $1,506,998) Dual Effect
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Active Matter $29.99 522 75% 16k $470k (exactly $469,643) Matter Team
Clawed $19.99 729 52% 22k $437k (exactly $437,181) Flatrock Games
UMIGARI | ウミガリ $12.99 1,029 82% 31k $401k (exactly $401,001) Chilla's Art
Blood Typers $12.49 912 94% 27k $342k (exactly $341,726) Outer Brain Studios
Photomaly $6.99 1,292 89% 39k $271k (exactly $270,932) Revira Interactive

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