Do I ship it?

GamesChoices MatterChoices Matter + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Choices Matter Tower Defense?

Choices Matter + Tower Defense

Of 81 developers who shipped a Choices Matter 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.. 159 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×472 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 159 games are announced against 55 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 159 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Choices Matter + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 81
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $1.3k → $719 → $839 → $1.3k → $390 → $1.1k (still earning) → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Choices Matter + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 81
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $629 (exactly $629)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 5% $224k (exactly $224,288)
Developers, 2 yr 81
Released games 204
Announced 159
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 flat on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Choices Matter
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Choices Matter, 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 Top-Down, 2D, 3D
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 12,520 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 $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 159 games are announced against 55 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Choices Matter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds108 devs · median $58k · 91 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair18 devs · median $4.7k · 15 announced
  3. + SportsFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced
  4. + RhythmFair36 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced
  5. + Hidden ObjectFair261 devs · median $802 · 273 announced
  6. + TriviaFair26 devs · median $599 · 30 announced
  7. + Board GameFair119 devs · median $479 · 150 announced
  8. + RacingFair51 devs · median $449 · 54 announced
  9. + ChessFair19 devs · median $419 · 20 announced
  10. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  11. + RomePoor odds10 devs · median $160k · 19 announced
  12. + World War IPoor odds10 devs · median $57k · 19 announced

All 243 pairs on the Choices Matter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Kingdom Rush Vengeance - Tower Defense older $19.99 9,906 93% 297k $5.9M (exactly $5,940,628) Ironhide Game Studio
Kingdom Rush Origins - Tower Defense older $14.99 7,466 95% 224k $3.4M (exactly $3,357,460) Ironhide Game Studio
Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Tower Defense older $9.99 10,011 96% 300k $3.0M (exactly $3,000,297) Ironhide Game Studio
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
Nordhold $19.99 2,875 87% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) StunForge
EverSiege: Untold Ages $19.99 1,906 68% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) Tindalos Interactive
DarkSwitch $34.99 714 77% 21k $749k (exactly $749,486) Cyber Temple
Isle of Arrows older $12.99 937 80% 28k $365k (exactly $365,149) Gridpop
Ghost Master: Resurrection $19.99 374 82% 11k $224k (exactly $224,288) Mechano Story Studio
Cube Chaos $11.99 621 95% 19k $223k (exactly $223,374) Wunarg
Here Comes The Swarm · EA $19.99 358 84% 11k $215k (exactly $214,693) CableHook Games
Keep Keepers $17.99 135 87% 4.1k $73k (exactly $72,860) Thunderrock Innovations
Ash & Adam's Existential Treads $6.99 340 92% 10k $71k (exactly $71,298) Ash & Adam's Games
Mythic Battlegrounds: Demonic Siege $14.99 80 73% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,976) DochiGames

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