Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Roguelike?

Inventory Management + Roguelike

Of 209 developers who shipped an Inventory Management Roguelike 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.. 370 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×5.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×886 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 370 games are announced against 152 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 370 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 209
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $9.0k → $5.8k → $2.5k → $4.0k → $3.0k → $1.9k (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 209
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,427)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $17,985)
Top 5% $421k (exactly $421,078)
Developers, 2 yr 209
Released games 352
Announced 370
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 155% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Roguelike
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, Roguelike; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Strategy, RPG
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 44,807 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 62 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 370 games are announced against 152 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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

Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M Sephiria 2026 · $6.3M Backpack Hero 2023 · $4.5M Death Must Die 2023 · EA · $4.4M Home Behind 2 2022 · $3.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Backpack Battles $14.99 18,933 91% 568k $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) PlayWithFurcifer
Sephiria $17.99 11,582 94% 347k $6.3M (exactly $6,250,805) TEAM HORAY
Backpack Hero older $19.99 7,423 85% 223k $4.5M (exactly $4,451,573) Jaspel
Death Must Die · EA older $6.99 20,937 90% 628k $4.4M (exactly $4,390,489) Realm Archive
Home Behind 2 older $19.99 6,585 86% 198k $3.9M (exactly $3,949,024) TPP Studio
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault $29.99 3,146 80% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) Digital Sun
NEO Scavenger older $14.99 4,437 89% 133k $2.0M (exactly $1,995,319) Blue Bottle Games
Ring of Pain older $19.99 3,256 91% 98k $2.0M (exactly $1,952,623) Simon Boxer, Twice Different
Vagante older $14.99 4,118 90% 124k $1.9M (exactly $1,851,865) Nuke Nine
Deadly Days: Roadtrip · EA $14.99 2,855 87% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894) Pixelsplit
Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot $14.99 2,588 82% 78k $1.2M (exactly $1,163,824) Hamma Studios
Raiders of Blackveil · EA $19.99 1,353 60% 41k $811k (exactly $811,394) Wombo Games
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Lootbound $14.99 1,248 77% 37k $561k (exactly $561,226) ArtDock
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo

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