Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Tower Defense

Of 84 developers who shipped a Tower Defense 2D Platformer 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.. 69 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 56 developers shipped in the last year and 69 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 205% on the market, 69 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 84
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $179 → $718 → $239 → $210 → $239 → $478 → $599 (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 84
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $1.7k (exactly $1,704)
Top 5% $15k (exactly $15,095)
Developers, 2 yr 84
Released games 185
Announced 69
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.00

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 205% on the market, supply 95% 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.

2D Platformer
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
2D Platformer, Tower Defense; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Combat, Survival
Price point
$4.00 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $4.00.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,223 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $270, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $15k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. Nearly all of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 56 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair150 devs · median $4.2k · 157 announced
  2. + VampiresFair47 devs · median $1.9k · 50 announced
  3. + MechsFair33 devs · median $1.8k · 44 announced
  4. + PinballFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 9 announced
  5. + WesternFair10 devs · median $1.3k · 13 announced
  6. + CRPGFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  7. + Psychological HorrorFair178 devs · median $1.0k · 185 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair45 devs · median $809 · 43 announced
  9. + MiningFair38 devs · median $748 · 45 announced
  10. + RoguelikeFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  11. + Party-Based RPGFair55 devs · median $599 · 42 announced
  12. + Tactical RPGFair58 devs · median $599 · 49 announced

All 226 pairs on the 2D Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cluckmech Oasis 2024 · $922k METAL SLUG ATTACK RELOADED 2024 · $491k Dwarfs!? 2011 · $193k Oriental Dynasty - Silk Road defense war 2023 · $111k Demon Castle Story 2026 · $100k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cluckmech Oasis older $9.99 3,077 87% 92k $922k (exactly $922,177) BlackLight
METAL SLUG ATTACK RELOADED older $9.99 1,639 69% 49k $491k (exactly $491,208) SNK CORPORATION
Dwarfs!? older $9.99 644 79% 19k $193k (exactly $193,007) Power of 2
Oriental Dynasty - Silk Road defense war older $5.99 616 75% 18k $111k (exactly $110,695) 星环游戏
Demon Castle Story $12.99 257 77% 7.7k $100k (exactly $100,153) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Smelter older $19.99 165 64% 5.0k $99k (exactly $98,950) X PLUS Co., Ltd.
Cursed Treasure 2 Ultimate Edition - Tower Defense older $8.99 350 78% 11k $94k (exactly $94,395) IriySoft
Dream Lust $4.99 412 84% 12k $62k (exactly $61,676) Cat Paw Game
JARS older $11.99 104 71% 3.1k $37k (exactly $37,409) Mousetrap Games
Drill Deal – Oil Tycoon older $14.99 80 82% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,976) ·
Beach Defense: Zombie Invasion $3.99 197 81% 5.9k $24k (exactly $23,581) Only Fun Games
The Starborn Return $10.99 68 80% 2.0k $22k (exactly $22,420) Backflip WildCAT
Dark Bone Prison $5.99 84 95% 2.5k $15k (exactly $15,095) Bunny Moon Shady
outpost4 $3.99 94 72% 2.8k $11k (exactly $11,252) BananaDogGames
The Purple Forest Ritual $5.99 51 62% 1.5k $9.2k (exactly $9,165) Topyu_u
Whispers in the Forest · EA $16.99 17 64% 510 $8.7k (exactly $8,665) Atzi Games Team
Emberwake $9.99 28 64% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) Neler93
Bumper Blitz TD $14.99 15 86% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) Ragnarok Studios

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