Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Lovecraftian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Lovecraftian Inventory Management game?

Inventory Management + Lovecraftian

Of 20 developers who shipped a Lovecraftian 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.. 38 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $25k, ×53 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $4.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×844 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 38 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 53.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 38 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Lovecraftian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.6k → $33k → $41k (still earning) → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Lovecraftian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $4.1k (exactly $4,133)
Median $25k (exactly $25,352)
Top 25% $70k (exactly $70,153)
Top 5% $401k (exactly $401,001)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 29
Announced 38
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $12.99

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 40% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.

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
Lovecraftian
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, Exploration
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 2,552 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $4.2k, median $25k, 1 in 4 over $70k, 1 in 20 over $400k.

3 in 10 developers made under $4.2k. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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

DREDGE 2023 · $36M Blood West 2023 · $4.6M UMIGARI | ウミガリ 2026 · $401k SealChain: Call of Blood 2026 · $145k Dead of Darkness 2025 · $99k
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
Blood West older $24.99 6,132 90% 184k $4.6M (exactly $4,597,160) Hyperstrange
UMIGARI | ウミガリ $12.99 1,029 82% 31k $401k (exactly $401,001) Chilla's Art
SealChain: Call of Blood $8.99 537 56% 16k $145k (exactly $144,829) AliveGameStudio
Dead of Darkness $15.99 206 86% 6.2k $99k (exactly $98,818) Retrofiction Games
Peregrino $16.99 174 65% 5.2k $89k (exactly $88,688) Inverge Studios
Lovecraft's Untold Stories 2 older $19.99 130 37% 3.9k $78k (exactly $77,961) LLC Blini Games
HYPERVIOLENT $14.99 156 67% 4.7k $70k (exactly $70,153) nfoPRINCE, Terminist Arcade
Pneumata $19.99 99 48% 3.0k $59k (exactly $59,370) Deadbolt Interactive
Dread Meridian $19.99 68 70% 2.0k $41k (exactly $40,780) KUKRGAME
Luck & Loot $7.99 138 90% 4.1k $33k (exactly $33,079) SMARTcreative
SENARA: The Sacrament $17.99 51 74% 1.5k $28k (exactly $27,525) Influsion Inc.
Relic Abyss · EA $8.99 94 80% 2.8k $25k (exactly $25,352) Reverse Loop

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