Do I ship it?

Games › Strategy RPG › Strategy RPG + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Strategy RPG?

Strategy RPG + Inventory Management

Of 66 developers who shipped an Inventory Management Strategy RPG 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.. 122 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×427 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 122 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 122 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy RPG + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 66
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $2.1k → $7.6k → $779 → $5.2k → $3.6k → $1.5k (still earning) → $9.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy RPG + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 66
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,728)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,491)
Top 5% $268k (exactly $267,976)
Developers, 2 yr 66
Released games 131
Announced 122
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.00

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 25% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Strategy RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy RPG, Inventory Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Character Customization
Price point
$7.00 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 $7.00.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 6,841 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SportsFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  2. + SwordplayFair22 devs · median $2.7k · 28 announced
  3. + Bullet HellFair40 devs · median $2.0k · 31 announced
  4. + EconomyFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced
  5. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  6. + ConspiracyFair19 devs · median $1.2k · 21 announced
  7. + Shop KeeperFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  8. + 2D PlatformerFair108 devs · median $479 · 113 announced
  9. + Point & ClickFair43 devs · median $450 · 47 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds58 devs · median $63k · 76 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds30 devs · median $35k · 41 announced
  12. + 4XPoor odds15 devs · median $31k · 33 announced

All 158 pairs on the Strategy RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

HighFleet 2021 · $6.3M Thriving City: Song 2024 · $1.7M Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot 2026 · $1.2M Megaloot 2024 · $1.1M Legends of Eisenwald 2015 · $836k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HighFleet older $29.99 7,024 88% 211k $6.3M (exactly $6,319,493) Konstantin Koshutin
Thriving City: Song older $18.99 3,054 81% 92k $1.7M (exactly $1,739,864) White Star Studio
Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot $14.99 2,588 82% 78k $1.2M (exactly $1,163,824) Hamma Studios
Megaloot older $9.99 3,808 71% 114k $1.1M (exactly $1,141,258) axilirate
Legends of Eisenwald older $19.99 1,394 76% 42k $836k (exactly $835,982) Aterdux Entertainment
Lootbound $14.99 1,248 77% 37k $561k (exactly $561,226) ArtDock
Overlooting $9.99 1,405 81% 42k $421k (exactly $421,078) Posing Possums
Rising Star 2 older $19.99 670 94% 20k $402k (exactly $401,799) Gilligames
Medieval Crafter: Blacksmith $11.99 745 76% 22k $268k (exactly $267,976) Compact Core Games
Time Break Chronicles · EA older $14.99 298 88% 8.9k $134k (exactly $134,011) Warrior General Games, LLC
A Hero's Rest: An RPG Town Simulator $24.99 160 67% 4.8k $120k (exactly $119,952) Vanargand Games
Between Adventures IDLE · EA $7.99 319 71% 9.6k $76k (exactly $76,464) Loop Forge
The Adventurers $12.99 150 78% 4.5k $58k (exactly $58,455) Eternal Vigilance Entertainment
A Kobold Story : Trenchcoat Adventurer $19.99 72 95% 2.2k $43k (exactly $43,178) Crystal Spider Games
The Headlands · EA $10.99 107 97% 3.2k $35k (exactly $35,278) TessaraOxygen
Dustwind: Resistance $19.90 47 80% 1.4k $28k (exactly $28,059) Dustwind Studios, Z-Software

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