Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Tower Defense?

Inventory Management + Tower Defense

Of 35 developers who shipped an Inventory Management Tower Defense 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×1075 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 58 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 58 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $48k → $179 → $299 → $359 → $3.8k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $178 (exactly $178)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $4.6k (exactly $4,613)
Top 5% $511k (exactly $510,859)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 62
Announced 58
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 140% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Tower Defense
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, Tower Defense; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Roguelite
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 3,329 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $450, 1 in 4 over $4.6k, 1 in 20 over $510k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

ShapeHero Factory 2025 · $713k Knightica 2025 · $511k SENTRY 2024 · EA · $507k Alien Shooter TD 2017 · $203k Wireworks 2026 · $129k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
SENTRY · EA older $19.99 845 81% 25k $507k (exactly $506,746) Fireblade Software
Alien Shooter TD older $9.99 676 84% 20k $203k (exactly $202,597) Sigma Team Inc.
Wireworks $6.99 614 89% 18k $129k (exactly $128,756) JJJ
Frontline Zed older $11.99 289 56% 8.7k $104k (exactly $103,953) Richard East
They Are Coming · EA older $2.99 624 90% 19k $56k (exactly $55,973) OnHit Developments
Dead Engine $7.99 208 71% 6.2k $50k (exactly $49,858) Chocolate Dungeon Games
Arms Evolution: ZOMBIE DESTROYER older $5.99 268 64% 8.0k $48k (exactly $48,160) Ash Game Studio
Bunker Defense older $24.99 43 83% 1.3k $32k (exactly $32,237) Goodvole
Blitzkrieg Express $4.99 121 74% 3.6k $18k (exactly $18,114) Maksym Melnyk
Golemworks $6.99 82 90% 2.5k $17k (exactly $17,195) evilalbert
Meta Card Backpack Legend $7.99 68 97% 2.0k $16k (exactly $16,300) KY Games
Graphic Tower Defense $3.99 60 85% 1.8k $7.2k (exactly $7,182) FatSheep Studio
FuJianStrike $6.99 22 100% 660 $4.6k (exactly $4,613) Mithril_055
Tower Tactics Arena $4.99 27 77% 810 $4.0k (exactly $4,042) asraworks

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