Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Investigation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Investigation game?

Inventory Management + Investigation

Of 33 developers who shipped an Inventory Management Investigation 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.. 76 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×570 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 76 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 76 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Investigation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $600 → $1.3k → $2.2k → $1.9k → $1.8k → $11k (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Investigation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $14,388)
Top 5% $271k (exactly $270,932)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 108
Announced 76
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $8.99

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 140% on the market, supply 85% 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
Investigation
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Inventory Management, Investigation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Life Sim, Management, Puzzle
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Realistic, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 5,229 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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

Parcel Simulator 2025 · $1.5M Photomaly 2026 · $271k Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 2026 · $128k Left Alone 2016 · $124k SCP Strategy 2022 · $117k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Parcel Simulator $17.99 2,804 93% 84k $1.5M (exactly $1,513,319) Dansan Digital
Photomaly $6.99 1,292 89% 39k $271k (exactly $270,932) Revira Interactive
Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 $7.99 533 98% 16k $128k (exactly $127,760) NovaSoft Interactive Ltd.
Left Alone older $6.99 592 74% 18k $124k (exactly $124,142) SpeedTutor
SCP Strategy older $6.99 556 78% 17k $117k (exactly $116,593) LUXO Interactive
Dustland · EA $22.99 100 69% 3.0k $69k (exactly $68,970) RedPad Games
Pneumata $19.99 99 48% 3.0k $59k (exactly $59,370) Deadbolt Interactive
Airport Baggage Simulator $17.99 100 92% 3.0k $54k (exactly $53,970) Three River Games (3RG)
Riddle of the Sphinx™ The Awakening (Enhanced Edition) older $19.99 84 83% 2.5k $50k (exactly $50,375) Old World Studios™
Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset older $14.99 102 80% 3.1k $46k (exactly $45,869) Brave Giant LTD
Escape From Crimson Manor: Trapped Together $12.99 78 69% 2.3k $30k (exactly $30,397) MediaCity Games
MALL MANAGER SIMULATOR $4.99 98 40% 2.9k $15k (exactly $14,671) Krisztian Blaha, KINETIC MOBILE GAMES
Farmer’s Market Simulator · EA $11.99 40 87% 1.2k $14k (exactly $14,388) Heze Games
Serra de Deus $4.99 85 94% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,724) David Pateti

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