Do I ship it?

Games › Tower Defense › Tower Defense + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Tower Defense?

Tower Defense + Aliens

Of 68 developers who shipped an Alien 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.. 93 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $340 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 35 developers shipped in the last year and 93 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 190% on the market, 93 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tower Defense + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 68
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $2.0k → $2.7k → $2.6k → $178 → $450 → $1.7k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tower Defense + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 68
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $341 (exactly $341)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,155)
Top 5% $629k (exactly $629,115)
Developers, 2 yr 68
Released games 187
Announced 93
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 190% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Tower Defense
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Aliens
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Tower Defense; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelite, Base Building
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 12,050 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 $340, 1 in 4 over $2.1k, 1 in 20 over $620k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 93 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tower Defense with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + DwarvesStrong odds10 devs · median $6.7k · 9 announced
  2. + MiningFair33 devs · median $6.3k · 45 announced
  3. + Survival HorrorFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 16 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair15 devs · median $1.6k · 20 announced
  5. + TanksFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 13 announced
  6. + MechsFair24 devs · median $1.5k · 24 announced
  7. + IdlerFair108 devs · median $1.2k · 136 announced
  8. + PuzzleFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 67 announced
  9. + Gun CustomizationFair26 devs · median $958 · 32 announced
  10. + LogicFair40 devs · median $955 · 44 announced
  11. + On-Rails ShooterFair11 devs · median $899 · 12 announced
  12. + Psychological HorrorFair8 devs · median $897 · 8 announced

All 150 pairs on the Tower Defense page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Starship Troopers: Terran Command 2022 · $8.3M Sanctum 2 2013 · $3.4M Tower Dominion 2025 · $2.7M Wall World 2023 · $2.4M X-Morph: Defense 2017 · $2.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Starship Troopers: Terran Command older $29.99 9,214 87% 276k $8.3M (exactly $8,289,836) The Artistocrats
Sanctum 2 older $14.99 7,456 92% 224k $3.4M (exactly $3,352,963) Coffee Stain Studios
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
X-Morph: Defense older $19.99 3,272 90% 98k $2.0M (exactly $1,962,218) EXOR Studios
Defense Grid: The Awakening older $9.99 4,528 96% 136k $1.4M (exactly $1,357,042) Hidden Path Entertainment
Drill Core $19.99 2,130 84% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,277,361) Hungry Couch Games
Infested Planet older $14.99 2,468 94% 74k $1.1M (exactly $1,109,860) Rocket Bear Games
DG2: Defense Grid 2 older $9.99 2,704 86% 81k $810k (exactly $810,389) Hidden Path Entertainment
The Spotter: Dig or Die $12.99 1,792 84% 54k $698k (exactly $698,342) Puppyroar Games
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
Void Miner – Incremental Asteroids Roguelite $5.99 698 83% 21k $125k (exactly $125,431) RyanJakob
Mineral Defense $14.99 220 90% 6.6k $99k (exactly $98,934) Corestone Games
Artificial Extinction 2 $19.99 113 77% 3.4k $68k (exactly $67,766) 100Hr Games Inc
Defender Bros · EA $19.99 64 90% 1.9k $38k (exactly $38,381) Lucky Dart
WARSHIFT 2 $19.99 54 70% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Cyril Megem
Galaxy Defense War $7.72 113 97% 3.4k $26k (exactly $26,171) Zero Space

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