Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Souls-like?

Souls-like + Inventory Management

Only 17 developers shipped an Inventory Management Souls-like in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Path of Exile 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 35 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $9.9k, ×6.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $150M, ×100739 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 35 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 35 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6M → $9.9k → $13k (still earning) → $3.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $1.9k (exactly $1,915)
Median $9.9k (exactly $9,890)
Top 25% $106k (exactly $106,129)
Top 5% $151M (exactly $150,906,681)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 38
Announced 35
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 85% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like, Inventory Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Loot, Action, Action RPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 181,732 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $9.9k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $150M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 5 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Path of Exile 2 2024 · EA · $151M Blood West 2023 · $4.6M FlyKnight 2025 · $1.9M Achilles: Legends Untold 2023 · $1.6M Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes 2026 · $864k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Path of Exile 2 · EA $29.99 167,730 76% 5.0M $151M (exactly $150,906,681) Grinding Gear Games
Blood West older $24.99 6,132 90% 184k $4.6M (exactly $4,597,160) Hyperstrange
FlyKnight $5.99 10,432 96% 313k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,630) Wabbaboy
Achilles: Legends Untold older $24.99 2,149 77% 64k $1.6M (exactly $1,611,105) Dark Point Games
Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes $14.99 1,921 90% 58k $864k (exactly $863,874) Cats Who Play
Devil Spire Falls · EA $14.99 1,068 94% 32k $480k (exactly $480,280) Ithiro Sumi
Eternal Edge + older $14.99 590 69% 18k $265k (exactly $265,323) Righteous Weasel Games, Ignatios Prouct… (Righteous Weasel Games, Ignatios Prouctions LLC)
Juice Galaxy · EA older $4.99 1,244 98% 37k $186k (exactly $186,227) Fishlicka
Devil Spire older $9.99 435 89% 13k $130k (exactly $130,370) Ithiro Sumi, Lucas Perdomo, Lucas Bress… (Ithiro Sumi, Lucas Perdomo, Lucas Bressan)
Frankie's FunClub $14.99 236 65% 7.1k $106k (exactly $106,129) LOVEBITES
MycoRelic · EA $14.99 166 89% 5.0k $75k (exactly $74,650) Sandy Dingo Games
DAMON and BABY $19.99 87 89% 2.6k $52k (exactly $52,174) Arc System Works
Blood Brides $9.99 45 62% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) Era t'my
Hunt and Fight $9.99 33 78% 990 $9.9k (exactly $9,890) StartImpulse, Two Cakes Studio
Fractured Worlds $22.99 14 57% 420 $9.7k (exactly $9,656) Laser Guided Games, LLC

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