Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Tower Defense?

Combat + Tower Defense

Of 371 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 521 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 214 developers shipped in the last year and 521 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 521 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 371
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $600 → $599 → $899 → $899 → $478 → $449 (still earning) → $358 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 371
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 5% $146k (exactly $146,152)
Developers, 2 yr 371
Released games 750
Announced 521
Effort 5 / 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 down 15% on the market, supply 35% more developers than 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat, Tower Defense; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Roguelite
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 58,006 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $450, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 182 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 521 games are announced against 214 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dome Keeper 2022 · $10M Orcs Must Die! 3 2021 · $9.8M Thronefall 2024 · $8.9M Age of Darkness: Final Stand 2025 · $8.0M Bad North: Jotunn Edition 2018 · $5.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dome Keeper older $17.99 18,976 92% 569k $10M (exactly $10,241,347) Bippinbits
Orcs Must Die! 3 older $29.99 10,930 85% 328k $9.8M (exactly $9,833,721) Robot Entertainment
Thronefall $12.99 22,966 96% 689k $8.9M (exactly $8,949,850) GrizzlyGames, Mythwright
Age of Darkness: Final Stand $27.99 9,486 74% 285k $8.0M (exactly $7,965,394) PlaySide
Bad North: Jotunn Edition older $14.99 12,344 93% 370k $5.6M (exactly $5,551,097) Plausible Concept, Oskar Stålberg
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap $29.99 4,053 69% 122k $3.6M (exactly $3,646,484) Robot Entertainment
Sanctum 2 older $14.99 7,456 92% 224k $3.4M (exactly $3,352,963) Coffee Stain Studios
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
Warpips older $16.99 4,339 87% 130k $2.2M (exactly $2,211,588) Skirmish Mode Games
Sir, We Have an Orc Problem $9.99 4,123 86% 124k $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) Mumpitz Games
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games
Monsters are Coming! $8.99 2,718 79% 82k $733k (exactly $733,045) Ludogram
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Titanium Court $14.99 1,094 94% 33k $492k (exactly $491,972) AP Thomson

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