Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Inventory Management game?

Inventory Management + Space

Of 65 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 118 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×265 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 118 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 118 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 65
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $15k → $27k → $359 → $2.1k → $1.7k → $479 (still earning) → $1.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 65
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Top 5% $167k (exactly $166,582)
Developers, 2 yr 65
Released games 144
Announced 118
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 30% on the market, supply 140% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Space
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Inventory Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Action, Crafting
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
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 86% positive over 6,494 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 118 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Inventory Management with a different setting or mood, 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

Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr 2018 · $29M Stranded: Alien Dawn 2023 · $10M Astrometica 2024 · EA · $1.7M SENTRY 2024 · EA · $507k Outworld Station 2026 · $460k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr older $49.99 19,552 75% 587k $29M (exactly $29,322,134) NeocoreGames
Stranded: Alien Dawn older $34.99 9,715 84% 291k $10M (exactly $10,197,836) Haemimont Games
Astrometica · EA $19.99 2,912 82% 87k $1.7M (exactly $1,746,326) BeryMery
SENTRY · EA older $19.99 845 81% 25k $507k (exactly $506,746) Fireblade Software
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
Eventide Matter $5.99 927 95% 28k $167k (exactly $166,582) Ottropi Games
Final Factory · EA older $18.99 286 78% 8.6k $163k (exactly $162,934) Never Games Limited
Ancient Space older $19.99 270 42% 8.1k $162k (exactly $161,919) CreativeForge Games
Vanguard Galaxy · EA $8.99 565 90% 17k $152k (exactly $152,380) Bat Roost Games
HYPERVIOLENT $14.99 156 67% 4.7k $70k (exactly $70,153) nfoPRINCE, Terminist Arcade
HELL OF FEAR: Mind Breach $16.99 88 87% 2.6k $45k (exactly $44,854) Abyss Assembly
Planet Killer $12.99 94 79% 2.8k $37k (exactly $36,632) Talisman One Studio
Cosmos point $12.99 79 79% 2.4k $31k (exactly $30,786) Anatoliy Sidorov
Frontier: Path of Shadows $14.99 49 91% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) Oduvan Games

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