Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Inventory Management game?
Inventory Management + Sci-fi
Of 109 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 254 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $460k, ×989 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 254 games are announced against 80 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,142) |
| Top 5% | $470k (exactly $469,643) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 109 |
| Released games | 273 |
| Announced | 254 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 down 45% on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Sci-fi
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Inventory Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Combat
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 358,070 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 254 games are announced against 80 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Inventory Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + WargameFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + LogicFair
- + Card GameFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + Puzzle PlatformerFair
- + God GameFair
Comparable games
ARC Raiders 2025 · $359M 
ARK: Survival Ascended 2023 · EA · $144M 
Marathon 2026 · $54M 
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr 2018 · $29M 
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut 2013 · $15M | 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 | |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr | older | $49.99 | 19,552 75% | 587k | $29M (exactly $29,322,134) | NeocoreGames |
| | Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut | older | $19.99 | 25,392 91% | 762k | $15M (exactly $15,227,582) | Eidos Montreal |
 | Stranded: Alien Dawn | older | $34.99 | 9,715 84% | 291k | $10M (exactly $10,197,836) | Haemimont Games |
 | HighFleet | older | $29.99 | 7,024 88% | 211k | $6.3M (exactly $6,319,493) | Konstantin Koshutin |
 | Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition | older | $6.99 | 13,740 94% | 412k | $2.9M (exactly $2,881,278) | Ion Storm |
 | Lost Ruins | older | $19.99 | 4,643 86% | 139k | $2.8M (exactly $2,784,407) | ALTARI GAMES |
 | Peripeteia | · EA | $24.99 | 3,120 86% | 94k | $2.3M (exactly $2,339,064) | Ninth Exodus |
 | Roadside Research | · EA | $14.99 | 3,991 85% | 120k | $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) | Cybernetic Walrus |
 | Astrometica | · EA | $19.99 | 2,912 82% | 87k | $1.7M (exactly $1,746,326) | BeryMery |
 | Active Matter | $29.99 | 522 75% | 16k | $470k (exactly $469,643) | Matter Team | |
 | Outworld Station | $18.99 | 807 84% | 24k | $460k (exactly $459,748) | Trickjump Games Ltd | |
 | Down with the Ship | · EA | $14.99 | 817 93% | 25k | $367k (exactly $367,405) | Iron Anchor Games |
 | Heat Death: Survival Train | · EA | $11.99 | 709 77% | 21k | $255k (exactly $255,027) | Mass Game Devs |
 | Eventide Matter | $5.99 | 927 95% | 28k | $167k (exactly $166,582) | Ottropi Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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