Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Puzzle game?

Inventory Management + Puzzle

Of 152 developers who shipped an Inventory Management Puzzle 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.. 259 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×422 the market median. Revenue is up 180% on the market; 259 games are announced against 103 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 180% on the market, 259 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 152
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $1.7k → $2.1k → $1.9k → $1.0k → $1.2k → $4.7k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 152
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,438)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $18,114)
Top 5% $201k (exactly $200,566)
Developers, 2 yr 152
Released games 373
Announced 259
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 180% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Inventory Management, Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 13,018 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 72 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 259 games are announced against 103 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

PC Building Simulator 2019 · $25M Unpacking 2021 · $21M Gunsmith Simulator 2024 · $2.4M Parcel Simulator 2025 · $1.5M Tormented Souls 2 2025 · $1.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PC Building Simulator older $19.99 42,153 93% 1.3M $25M (exactly $25,279,154) Claudiu Kiss, The Irregular Corporation
Unpacking older $19.99 35,072 93% 1.1M $21M (exactly $21,032,678) Witch Beam
Gunsmith Simulator $24.99 3,165 84% 95k $2.4M (exactly $2,372,800) GameHunters
Parcel Simulator $17.99 2,804 93% 84k $1.5M (exactly $1,513,319) Dansan Digital
Tormented Souls 2 $29.99 1,675 88% 50k $1.5M (exactly $1,506,998) Dual Effect
Haydee 2 older $24.99 1,649 87% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,236,255) Haydee Interactive
The Eternal Cylinder older $24.99 1,166 89% 35k $874k (exactly $874,150) ACE Team
Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Dry Twice older $34.99 745 82% 22k $782k (exactly $782,026) CrazyBunch
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Mosaique Neko Waifus 4 older $4.99 4,255 94% 128k $637k (exactly $636,974) Lil Hentai Games
Sort Them Ducks $5.99 1,461 92% 44k $263k (exactly $262,542) Mr.Duck
Post Trauma $14.99 574 72% 17k $258k (exactly $258,128) RED SOUL GAMES
Backrooms Lost Runners · EA $13.99 592 75% 18k $248k (exactly $248,462) ShimStudioGames
Turnbound $14.99 446 78% 13k $201k (exactly $200,566) 1TK
Eventide Matter $5.99 927 95% 28k $167k (exactly $166,582) Ottropi Games
Skinfreak $12.99 383 86% 11k $149k (exactly $149,255) Black Eyed Priest

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