Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Inventory Management game?

Inventory Management + Mystery

Of 86 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 203 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×523 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 203 games are announced against 60 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 203 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 86
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.6k → $1.2k → $5.0k → $2.2k → $1.1k → $1.5k → $599 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 86
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,568)
Top 5% $248k (exactly $248,462)
Developers, 2 yr 86
Released games 218
Announced 203
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 20% on the market, supply 120% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Mystery
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 7,621 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 $720, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 203 games are announced against 60 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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 Tormented Souls 2 2025 · $1.5M Echoes of the Living 2025 · EA · $753k Starsand 2022 · $483k Fantasy Blacksmith 2019 · $305k
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
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
Starsand older $19.99 806 69% 24k $483k (exactly $483,358) Tunnel Vision Studio
Fantasy Blacksmith older $9.99 1,019 63% 31k $305k (exactly $305,394) Heaven Brotherhood
Photomaly $6.99 1,292 89% 39k $271k (exactly $270,932) Revira Interactive
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
Backrooms Lost Runners · EA $13.99 592 75% 18k $248k (exactly $248,462) ShimStudioGames
Graveyard Shift older $6.99 731 75% 22k $153k (exactly $153,291) Darkphobia Games
Skinfreak $12.99 383 86% 11k $149k (exactly $149,255) Black Eyed Priest
Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 $7.99 533 98% 16k $128k (exactly $127,760) NovaSoft Interactive Ltd.
Retail Hell $7.99 532 95% 16k $128k (exactly $127,520) LEAP Game Studios
Dig Island · EA $14.99 282 86% 8.5k $127k (exactly $126,815) FiftyEight Studios
Dustland · EA $22.99 100 69% 3.0k $69k (exactly $68,970) RedPad Games

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