Do I ship it?

Games › PvP › PvP + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP Inventory Management game?

PvP + Inventory Management

Of 49 developers who shipped a paid PvP 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.. 4 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 160 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $24k, ×16 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $8.5M, ×5684 the market median. Revenue is up 925% on the market; 160 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 16.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 925% on the market, 160 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 49
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.9k → $13k → $206k → $61k → $41k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 49
Bottom 30% $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Median $24k (exactly $23,990)
Top 25% $183k (exactly $183,416)
Top 5% $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170)
Developers, 2 yr 49
Released games 143
Announced 160
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $11.99

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 925% on the market, supply 105% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 41%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
PvP, Inventory Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Asynchronous Multiplayer, Strategy, Auto Battler
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 369,377 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.4k, median $24k, 1 in 4 over $180k, 1 in 20 over $8.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.4k. 7 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 160 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

ARC Raiders 2025 · $359M ARK: Survival Ascended 2023 · EA · $144M Marathon 2026 · $54M Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront 2021 · $34M Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ARC Raiders $39.99 299,346 82% 9.0M $359M (exactly $359,125,396) Embark Studios
ARK: Survival Ascended · EA older $44.99 106,761 60% 3.2M $144M (exactly $144,095,322) Studio Wildcard, Grove Street Games, In… (Studio Wildcard, Grove Street Games, Instinct Games)
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront older $34.99 32,183 85% 965k $34M (exactly $33,782,495) Barbedwire Studios, Digitalmindsoft
Backpack Battles $14.99 18,933 91% 568k $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) PlayWithFurcifer
Ghosts of Tabor · EA older $24.99 9,140 70% 274k $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) Combat Waffle Studios
CarX Drift Racing Online 2 · EA $24.99 1,222 71% 37k $916k (exactly $916,133) CarX Technologies, LLC
RiMS Racing older $49.99 408 65% 12k $612k (exactly $611,878) Nacon Studio Milan
Supercar Collection Simulator $12.99 1,528 85% 46k $595k (exactly $595,462) Kiki Games
Active Matter $29.99 522 75% 16k $470k (exactly $469,643) Matter Team
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo
Down with the Ship · EA $14.99 817 93% 25k $367k (exactly $367,405) Iron Anchor Games
Backpack Jianghu $13.99 565 80% 17k $237k (exactly $237,130) 背包工作室
Toy Smash Kaboom! $13.99 550 84% 17k $231k (exactly $230,835) Free Particle

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