Unreal Engine Blueprint Inventory Systems in Under 30 Minutes!

Step-by-step guide to build a clean, expandable inventory system in UE5 using Blueprints, UMG, and interfaces. Beginner-friendly yet production-ready.

This is Rambod, and in this guide we’ll build a fully functional, expandable inventory system in Unreal Engine 5 — all in under 30 minutes.
We’ll use Blueprints, UMG, and Interfaces to keep everything modular and scalable. The system works in the Third Person Template but can be reused in RPGs, survival games, or top-down projects.

By the end, you’ll have:
✅ Pickups with modular data
✅ Clean UI built in UMG with grid layout
✅ Add/remove/stacking logic inside a component
✅ Automatic pickup logic using interfaces
✅ Drop button logic with UI refresh
✅ A toggle key for showing/hiding the inventory

1) Structuring Inventory Data

1. In the Content Drawer, right-click → Blueprints → Structure.
2. Name it InventoryItemStruct.
3. Add these variables:
   • ItemName (Text) → display name
   • ItemID (Integer) → unique identifier
   • ItemIcon (Texture2D) → image for UI
   • Quantity (Integer) → stack count

Default values: name empty, ID = 0, Icon = none, Quantity = 1.
This struct ensures consistency across all items.

2) Creating the Inventory Component

1. Right-click → Blueprint Class → Actor Component.
2. Name it InventoryComponent.
3. Inside, add a variable InventoryItems of type Array of InventoryItemStruct.

This array stores all player items.
Using a component keeps logic modular — attachable to characters, NPCs, or containers.

3) Writing the Add Item Function

Inputs

• Item (InventoryItemStruct)

Logic

• Break the struct.
• Loop through existing items (ForEach).
• Compare ItemID.
• If found → add quantities and update with Set Array Element.
• If not found → append the new item.

✅ Supports stacking automatically.
✅ Easily expandable for features like rarity, weight, or durability.

4) Writing the Remove Item Function

Inputs

• ItemID (Integer)

Logic

• Loop through InventoryItems.
• If match found → Remove Index.
• Exit immediately.

This removes items safely and efficiently.

5) Building the Inventory Interface

Interfaces make pickups reusable.

1. Right-click → Blueprint Interface → BPI_InventoryInteract.
2. Add two functions:
   • GetItemData → Output: InventoryItemStruct
   • OnCollected → no inputs/outputs

Any actor with this interface can provide its item data and clean itself up when collected.

6) Creating the Pickup Actor

1. Blueprint Class → Actor → BP_PickupItem.
2. Add components:
   • Static Mesh (visual)
   • Sphere Collision (interaction radius 50)
3. Add variable ItemData (InventoryItemStruct).
   • Set Instance Editable + Expose on Spawn.
4. Implement Interface functions:
   • GetItemData → return ItemData.
   • OnCollected → DestroyActor.
5. Sphere → Collision → Overlap All Dynamic, enable Generate Overlap Events.

This makes pickups modular, data-driven, and auto-destroyable.

7) Auto-Pickup in the Player

Inside BP_ThirdPersonCharacter:

• Add Inventory Component.
• Use Event ActorBeginOverlap.
• Check if OtherActor Implements Interface (BPI_InventoryInteract).
• If true:
  • Cast to BP_PickupItem.
  • Call GetItemData (interface message).
  • Call AddItem on the inventory component.
  • Call OnCollected to destroy the pickup.

Now pickups auto-add themselves to the inventory.

8) Creating the Item UI Widget

1. Create Widget Blueprint → WBP_InventoryItem.

2. Designer setup:

   • Canvas Root.
   • Image (100x100, centered).
   • Button (100x40, bottom aligned).
   • Text inside button → “Drop”.

3. Graph:

   • Add variable ItemData (InventoryItemStruct, Expose on Spawn).
   • On Button Click:
     • Get PlayerCharacter → Cast to BP_ThirdPersonCharacter.
     • Get Inventory Component.
     • Call RemoveItem with ItemID.

4. Bonus:

   • On Event Construct, Set Brush from Texture using ItemData.ItemIcon.

This widget handles item visuals and removal.

9) Creating the Main Inventory Panel

1. Create Widget Blueprint → WBP_InventoryPanel.

2. Designer:

   • Canvas Root → Content Panel (400x600, left center).
   • Uniform Grid Panel → variable name ItemGrid.
   • Background Image (dark, alpha 0.2, Z-order 5).
   • Close Button (150x50, bottom center).

3. Graph:

   • On Close Click → Remove from Parent.
   • On Construct → Clear Children in grid, then:
     • Get PlayerCharacter → Cast → Get Inventory Component.
     • Get InventoryItems.
     • For Each: Create WBP_InventoryItem with data.
     • Add Child to Grid: calculate Row = Index / MaxColumns, Col = Index % MaxColumns.

✅ Alignment nodes: Set Horizontal + Vertical Alignment to Fill.
✅ Added Custom Event: UpdateInventoryList to refresh after drops.

10) Input Toggle for the Panel

In BP_ThirdPersonCharacter:

• Add I Key input.
• Use Flip-Flop:
  • A: Create WBP_InventoryPanel → Add to Viewport → Set Input Mode Game and UI → Show Cursor true.
  • B: If valid, Remove From Parent → Set Input Mode Game Only → Show Cursor false.

Now the player can open/close the inventory cleanly.

11) Drop Logic Integration

Inside WBP_InventoryItem:

• Already wired drop button to RemoveItem.
• After removing, call UpdateInventoryList on the Inventory Panel to refresh UI instantly.

12) Testing with Icons

Use game-icons.net (free) to grab icons like:

• Mushroom
• Canned Fish
• Backpack

Import them into Unreal.
Then place BP_PickupItem actors in the level with unique data (Name, ID, Icon, Quantity).
Optionally assign meshes for in-world visualization.

13) Final Test

1. Hit Play.
2. Walk into items → pickups disappear.
3. Press I → inventory panel opens with icons + quantities.
4. Click “Drop” → item removed from list.

✅ Clean, expandable system
✅ Modular pickups and UI
✅ Safe add/remove logic
✅ Efficient toggling

Wrap Up

We’ve built a solid, production-ready inventory system in under 30 minutes:

• Inventory data struct for consistency
• Component-based storage with Add/Remove logic
• Pickup actor with modular interface
• Auto-pickup logic for the player
• Reusable item widget + grid panel
• UI toggle with input handling
• Drop functionality with refresh

From here, you can expand with:

• Stack limits
• Item consumption effects
• Equipment slots
• Drag & drop UI

👉 Watch the full tutorial on YouTube
👉 Subscribe for future parts: Rambod Dev Channel