Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Top-Down Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Top-Down Shooter?

Inventory Management + Top-Down Shooter

Of 31 developers who shipped an Inventory Management Top-Down Shooter 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.. 60 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $81k, ×171 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 60 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 60 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Top-Down Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $1.4k → $4.3k → $2.7k → $300 (still earning) → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Top-Down Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,346)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $14,386)
Top 5% $81k (exactly $81,449)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 65
Announced 60
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 45% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Top-Down Shooter
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, Top-Down Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, PvE
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 1,163 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $81k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Inventory Management with a different second tag, 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

Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront 2021 · $34M Night Raider 2024 · $343k CyberCorp 2025 · $158k Zombie Shooter 2009 · $136k Frontline Zed 2019 · $104k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront older $34.99 32,183 85% 965k $34M (exactly $33,782,495) Barbedwire Studios, Digitalmindsoft
Night Raider older $5.99 1,908 85% 57k $343k (exactly $342,868) TSUKUYOMIC
CyberCorp $14.99 351 75% 11k $158k (exactly $157,845) Megame LLC
Zombie Shooter older $4.99 911 82% 27k $136k (exactly $136,377) Sigma Team Inc.
Frontline Zed older $11.99 289 56% 8.7k $104k (exactly $103,953) Richard East
Soulforge Lost Path $8.99 302 69% 9.1k $81k (exactly $81,449) Ziyue
DAMON and BABY $19.99 87 89% 2.6k $52k (exactly $52,174) Arc System Works
Planet Killer $12.99 94 79% 2.8k $37k (exactly $36,632) Talisman One Studio
Shell Runner $14.99 80 57% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,976) Reija
ZOMBIE RAID: No One Survives · EA older $5.99 128 44% 3.8k $23k (exactly $23,002) Red Dot Studio
Seek $4.99 107 81% 3.2k $16k (exactly $16,018) cloud_li
Seven Cities · EA $14.99 32 87% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) IMV Studio
INSANIO $9.99 48 66% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,386) somebody
Backpack Raiders $7.99 33 93% 990 $7.9k (exactly $7,910) WollemGames
Glass Cannon $4.99 29 89% 870 $4.3k (exactly $4,341) LisiSoft

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