Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller Inventory Management game?

Inventory Management + Thriller

Of 30 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 75 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×543 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 75 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 115% on the market, 75 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Thriller
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.0k → $1.2k → $5.0k → $1.9k → $898 → $1.4k → $150 (still earning) → $2.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 5% $258k (exactly $258,128)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 76
Announced 75
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 115% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Thriller
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Inventory Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 2,028 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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

Clawed 2026 · $437k Post Trauma 2025 · $258k Don't Be Afraid 2020 · $240k Graveyard Shift 2023 · $153k Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 2026 · $128k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Clawed $19.99 729 52% 22k $437k (exactly $437,181) Flatrock Games
Post Trauma $14.99 574 72% 17k $258k (exactly $258,128) RED SOUL GAMES
Don't Be Afraid older $9.99 801 81% 24k $240k (exactly $240,060) Limo Games, Broken Arrow Games
Graveyard Shift older $6.99 731 75% 22k $153k (exactly $153,291) Darkphobia Games
Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 $7.99 533 98% 16k $128k (exactly $127,760) NovaSoft Interactive Ltd.
Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset older $14.99 102 80% 3.1k $46k (exactly $45,869) Brave Giant LTD
Partum Artifex older $14.99 91 94% 2.7k $41k (exactly $40,923) DalaKoala Games
Genotype older $24.99 42 90% 1.3k $31k (exactly $31,487) Bolverk VR Games
Chernobyl Again older $19.99 39 61% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Vimagineo Sp. z o.o.
A Wake Inn older $19.99 36 58% 1.1k $22k (exactly $21,589) VR Bros
Dreadway $6.99 101 67% 3.0k $21k (exactly $21,180) ZweiBier Indie
The Living Shadows $17.99 15 53% 450 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) Chilling Designs
Scary Shadow Spot - Bitter Glass $9.99 26 100% 780 $7.8k (exactly $7,792) Daniele Doesn't Matter
The Backrooms: Rescue Expedition $9.99 21 33% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) {CRYTIME}
Still in the Fog $9.99 8 100% 240 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) Juan Diego Pierozzi Luque
Smile Protocol $5.99 13 76% 390 $2.3k (exactly $2,336) OxygenStudio
Unsolved Case: Ash and Secrets Collector's Edition $8.99 8 50% 240 $2.2k (exactly $2,158) Do Games Limited

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