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Should I ship a Cat Tower Defense?
Tower Defense + Cats
Only 16 developers shipped a Cat Tower Defense in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Epic Auto Towers, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.9k, ×6.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×727 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 30 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $15,285) |
| Top 5% | $345k (exactly $345,370) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 38 |
| Announced | 30 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 55% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Cats
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Tower Defense
- Price point
- $4.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 1,153 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tower Defense with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DwarvesStrong odds
- + MiningFair
- + Survival HorrorFair
- + CapitalismFair
- + TanksFair
- + MechsFair
- + IdlerFair
- + PuzzleFair
- + Gun CustomizationFair
- + LogicFair
- + On-Rails ShooterFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
Comparable games
Epic Auto Towers 2024 · EA · $345k 
Kittypocalypse 2016 · $87k 
The Chronicles of Nyanya 2018 · $47k 
Cats on Duty 2024 · $43k 
Claws Of Power 2026 · $36k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Epic Auto Towers | · EA | $14.99 | 768 70% | 23k | $345k (exactly $345,370) | Aleksandr Golovkin |
| | Kittypocalypse | older | $14.99 | 193 88% | 5.8k | $87k (exactly $86,792) | Bolverk Games |
| | The Chronicles of Nyanya | older | $19.99 | 79 92% | 2.4k | $47k (exactly $47,376) | hamstercube |
| | Cats on Duty | older | $9.99 | 142 90% | 4.3k | $43k (exactly $42,557) | Prikol Team |
| | Claws Of Power | $6.99 | 170 80% | 5.1k | $36k (exactly $35,649) | 蒜苗 | |
 | Fort Meow | older | $7.99 | 145 92% | 4.4k | $35k (exactly $34,756) | Upper Class Walrus |
 | Kill A Million Rats | $10.99 | 64 89% | 1.9k | $21k (exactly $21,101) | Nerdook Productions | |
 | Sushi Cat - Tower Defense | $9.99 | 51 84% | 1.5k | $15k (exactly $15,285) | OverPowered Team | |
 | Kittypocalypse - Ungoggled | older | $9.99 | 44 79% | 1.3k | $13k (exactly $13,187) | Bolverk Games |
 | Cats go! : Tactical Defense Braw | $4.99 | 39 97% | 1.2k | $5.8k (exactly $5,838) | Minimum Studio Corp. | |
 | Cat Guardian | $7.99 | 19 84% | 570 | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) | Yaeegy | |
 | Kemotaku | $15.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $3.4k (exactly $3,358) | Kojika Games | |
 | Vampire Cat | $6.99 | 14 78% | 420 | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) | Hunt Games | |
 | Defend Against Cats | $1.99 | 19 100% | 570 | $1.1k (exactly $1,134) | Greyhaven Craft | |
 | Dungeon Gatekeeper | $4.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | Fruit Platter Hermit |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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