Games › Swordplay › Swordplay + Inventory Management
Should I ship an Inventory Management Swordplay game?
Swordplay + Inventory Management
Only 13 developers shipped an Inventory Management Swordplay game 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, Backpack Jianghu, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 27 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×378 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 27 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $719 (exactly $719) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.0k (exactly $1,977) |
| Top 25% | $5.2k (exactly $5,240) |
| Top 5% | $237k (exactly $237,130) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 31 |
| Announced | 27 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 flat on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Swordplay
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Inventory Management
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Swordplay, Inventory Management
- Price point
- $7.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 845 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Swordplay with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Shoot 'Em UpLong shot
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + FightingPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
Achilles: Legends Untold 2023 · $1.6M 
Karnage Chronicles 2020 · $892k 
Backpack Jianghu 2026 · $237k 
Varthos - Heir to the Throne 2025 · EA · $49k 
Warden: Melody of the Undergrowth 2016 · $28k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Achilles: Legends Untold | older | $24.99 | 2,149 77% | 64k | $1.6M (exactly $1,611,105) | Dark Point Games |
| | Karnage Chronicles | older | $24.99 | 1,190 85% | 36k | $892k (exactly $892,143) | Nordic Trolls |
| | Backpack Jianghu | $13.99 | 565 80% | 17k | $237k (exactly $237,130) | 背包工作室 | |
| | Varthos - Heir to the Throne | · EA | $19.99 | 82 68% | 2.5k | $49k (exactly $49,175) | Nightshift Game Development |
| | Warden: Melody of the Undergrowth | older | $19.99 | 46 78% | 1.4k | $28k (exactly $27,586) | Cardboard Keep |
 | Tale of Dark Lands | $7.99 | 36 80% | 1.1k | $8.6k (exactly $8,629) | Satur Entertainment | |
 | SideQuest Hunters | $4.99 | 35 71% | 1.1k | $5.2k (exactly $5,240) | Paparajote Games | |
 | Doko Roko | older | $9.99 | 14 42% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Eric Mack |
 | PixelQuest - Herb's Adventure | $9.99 | 12 75% | 360 | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) | AntaresVids | |
 | Silver Cats | older | $17.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $3.2k (exactly $3,238) | Silver Cats |
 | XiuXian Idle Cultivation | $0.99 | 91 21% | 2.7k | $2.7k (exactly $2,703) | 浪屿峻造 | |
 | The Last Nordic Tribe | $5.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $2.0k (exactly $1,977) | Never Say Never | |
 | Ruins of Endoth | · EA | $9.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) | KLG Games Ltd |
 | 虚衝 - Kyosho | $9.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) | むつむつプロジェクト（Mutsu'pro） | |
 | Card Maker Simulator | $7.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $719 (exactly $719) | Níkolas Santos |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.