Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense?

Tower Defense

Of 1,160 developers who shipped a 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.. 1,764 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 $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×529 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 1,764 games are announced against 709 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 1,764 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,160
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $897 → $840 → $1.1k → $898 → $599 → $987 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,160
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $629 (exactly $629)
Top 25% $5.5k (exactly $5,456)
Top 5% $251k (exactly $251,346)
Developers, 2 yr 1,160
Released games 3,242
Announced 1,764
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 10% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

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
Tower Defense
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 93,961 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 $630, 1 in 4 over $5.4k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 549 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,764 games are announced against 709 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Tower Defense

151 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Tower Defense + Dwarves Strong odds $6.7k 10 devs
  2. Mining + Tower Defense Fair $6.3k 33 devs
  3. Survival Horror + Tower Defense Fair $1.9k 14 devs
  4. Tower Defense + Capitalism Fair $1.6k 15 devs
  5. Tanks + Tower Defense Fair $1.5k 14 devs
  6. Tower Defense + Mechs Fair $1.5k 24 devs
  7. Tower Defense + Idler Fair $1.2k 108 devs
  8. Tower Defense + Puzzle Fair $1.0k 64 devs
  9. Gun Customization + Tower Defense Fair $958 26 devs
  10. Tower Defense + Logic Fair $955 40 devs
  11. On-Rails Shooter + Tower Defense Fair $899 11 devs
  12. Tower Defense + Psychological Horror Fair $897 8 devs
  13. Turn-Based Combat + Tower Defense Fair $839 28 devs
  14. Arcade + Tower Defense Fair $718 135 devs
  15. Bullet Hell + Tower Defense Fair $628 145 devs
  16. Shoot 'Em Up + Tower Defense Fair $599 70 devs
  17. Tower Defense + Match 3 Fair $599 9 devs
  18. Bullet Time + Tower Defense Fair $597 20 devs
  19. Tower Defense + Supernatural Fair $479 17 devs
  20. Beat 'em up + Tower Defense Fair $416 14 devs
  21. Turn-Based + Tower Defense Poor odds $294k 9 devs
  22. Real-Time + Tower Defense Poor odds $32k 9 devs
  23. God Game + Tower Defense Poor odds $22k 16 devs
  24. Bullet Heaven + Tower Defense Poor odds $12k 29 devs
  25. Colony Sim + Tower Defense Poor odds $12k 54 devs
  26. Roguelike Deckbuilder + Tower Defense Poor odds $11k 25 devs
  27. Exploration + Tower Defense Poor odds $9.9k 80 devs
  28. Open World + Tower Defense Poor odds $8.4k 29 devs
  29. Split Screen + Tower Defense Poor odds $7.9k 8 devs
  30. Tower Defense + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $6.7k 12 devs
  31. City Builder + Tower Defense Poor odds $6.5k 112 devs
  32. Sandbox + Tower Defense Poor odds $5.7k 67 devs
  33. Dungeon Crawler + Tower Defense Poor odds $5.4k 24 devs
  34. Online Co-Op + Tower Defense Poor odds $3.6k 55 devs
  35. Turn-Based Strategy + Tower Defense Poor odds $3.5k 65 devs
  36. Co-op + Tower Defense Poor odds $3.4k 62 devs
  37. Deckbuilding + Tower Defense Poor odds $3.1k 103 devs
  38. Tower Defense + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $3.1k 17 devs
  39. MOBA + Tower Defense Poor odds $3.1k 7 devs
  40. Tower Defense + Cats Poor odds $2.9k 16 devs
  41. Crafting + Tower Defense Poor odds $2.4k 84 devs
  42. Tower Defense + Dark Fantasy Poor odds $2.3k 80 devs
  43. Tower Defense + Mythology Poor odds $2.2k 24 devs
  44. Management + Tower Defense Poor odds $2.2k 158 devs
  45. Tower Defense + Card Game Poor odds $2.2k 77 devs
  46. Tower Defense + Dragons Poor odds $2.1k 18 devs
  47. Tower Defense + Female Protagonist Poor odds $2.0k 40 devs
  48. Tower Defense + Historical Poor odds $1.9k 29 devs
  49. Grand Strategy + Tower Defense Poor odds $1.9k 17 devs
  50. Tower Defense + Post-apocalyptic Poor odds $1.9k 85 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

7 Days to Die 2024 · $369M Total War: WARHAMMER III 2022 · $189M Bloons TD 6 2018 · $147M They Are Billions 2019 · $42M Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition 2009 · $21M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
7 Days to Die older $44.99 273,589 87% 8.2M $369M (exactly $369,263,073) The Fun Pimps
Total War: WARHAMMER III older $59.99 104,822 71% 3.1M $189M (exactly $188,648,153) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive
Bloons TD 6 older $13.99 349,859 97% 10M $147M (exactly $146,835,822) Ninja Kiwi
They Are Billions older $29.99 46,223 85% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,586,833) Numantian Games
Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition older $4.99 143,506 97% 4.3M $21M (exactly $21,482,848) PopCap Games, Inc.
The Riftbreaker older $29.99 22,127 90% 664k $20M (exactly $19,907,662) EXOR Studios
Kingdom Two Crowns older $19.99 31,259 90% 938k $19M (exactly $18,746,022) Fury Studios, Coatsink
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ older $29.99 15,372 71% 461k $14M (exactly $13,830,188) PopCap
Dome Keeper older $17.99 18,976 92% 569k $10M (exactly $10,241,347) Bippinbits
The Last Spell older $24.99 13,260 91% 398k $9.9M (exactly $9,941,022) Ishtar Games
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Thronefall $12.99 22,966 96% 689k $8.9M (exactly $8,949,850) GrizzlyGames, Mythwright
Age of Darkness: Final Stand $27.99 9,486 74% 285k $8.0M (exactly $7,965,394) PlaySide
Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition $19.99 10,627 92% 319k $6.4M (exactly $6,373,012) Firefly Studios
The Front $19.99 9,555 66% 287k $5.7M (exactly $5,730,134) Samar Studio
Plants vs. Zombies™: Replanted $19.99 6,898 66% 207k $4.1M (exactly $4,136,731) PopCap Games, The Lost Pixels
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap $29.99 4,053 69% 122k $3.6M (exactly $3,646,484) Robot Entertainment
Becastled $19.99 5,349 81% 160k $3.2M (exactly $3,207,795) Mana Potion Studios
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games

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