Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Tower Defense
Should I ship a Tower Defense Action RPG?
Action RPG + Tower Defense
Of 40 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Action RPG 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.. 68 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. 68 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper, while revenue is down 35% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $5.1k (exactly $5,095) |
| Top 5% | $278k (exactly $277,915) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 119 |
| Announced | 68 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 35% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Action RPG
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Tower Defense
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG, Tower Defense; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.49 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Isometric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.49 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 1,689 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + NavalFair
- + Local Co-OpFair
- + WesternFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + Walking SimulatorLong shot
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
Comparable games
The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M 
Cultivation Tales 2024 · $7.5M 
Dungeon Defenders 2011 · $5.5M 
Dungeon Defenders: Awakened 2020 · $1.5M 
DRAGON QUEST HEROES™ Slime Edition 2015 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Riftbreaker | older | $29.99 | 22,127 90% | 664k | $20M (exactly $19,907,662) | EXOR Studios |
| | Cultivation Tales | older | $19.99 | 12,560 38% | 377k | $7.5M (exactly $7,532,232) | Ac Games |
| | Dungeon Defenders | older | $14.99 | 12,148 93% | 364k | $5.5M (exactly $5,462,956) | Chromatic Games |
| | Dungeon Defenders: Awakened | older | $14.99 | 3,264 67% | 98k | $1.5M (exactly $1,467,821) | Chromatic Games |
| | DRAGON QUEST HEROES™ Slime Edition | older | $39.99 | 1,150 67% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,379,655) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
 | ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition | older | $14.99 | 2,953 64% | 89k | $1.3M (exactly $1,327,964) | AMPLITUDE Studios |
 | Deathtrap | older | $19.99 | 1,858 84% | 56k | $1.1M (exactly $1,114,243) | NeocoreGames |
 | The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II | older | $14.99 | 1,954 70% | 59k | $879k (exactly $878,714) | NeocoreGames |
 | Lumencraft | older | $19.99 | 1,086 75% | 33k | $651k (exactly $651,274) | 2Dynamic Games |
 | Decision: Red Daze | older | $19.99 | 855 74% | 26k | $513k (exactly $512,743) | FlyAnvil |
 | Machine Mind | $19.99 | 567 71% | 17k | $340k (exactly $340,030) | Chudo-Yudo Games | |
 | Castle Of Alchemists | $14.99 | 618 80% | 19k | $278k (exactly $277,915) | Team Machiavelli | |
 | Decision Legacy Collection | $9.99 | 171 83% | 5.1k | $51k (exactly $51,249) | FlyAnvil | |
 | WARSHIFT 2 | $19.99 | 54 70% | 1.6k | $32k (exactly $32,384) | Cyril Megem | |
 | Bonelords | $6.99 | 94 92% | 2.8k | $20k (exactly $19,712) | Z0 Game Studios | |
 | Dark Bone Prison | $5.99 | 84 95% | 2.5k | $15k (exactly $15,095) | Bunny Moon Shady | |
 | Frontier Paladin | $16.49 | 30 70% | 900 | $15k (exactly $14,841) | Singular Scheme | |
 | Divinity Vassals | $11.99 | 36 75% | 1.1k | $13k (exactly $12,949) | Yi | |
 | Clockfall | · EA | $9.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) | Rever Games GmbH |
 | Dawnhold | $9.99 | 17 100% | 510 | $5.1k (exactly $5,095) | Alex Spalvieri |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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