Do I ship it?

Games › Crafting › Crafting + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crafting Tower Defense?

Crafting + Tower Defense

Of 84 developers who shipped a Crafting 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.. 148 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $450k, ×720 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 148 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 148 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 84
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $360 → $450 → $1.2k → $898 → $4.5k → $3.5k → $2.4k (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 84
Bottom 30% $478 (exactly $478)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $17,988)
Top 5% $452k (exactly $451,948)
Developers, 2 yr 84
Released games 194
Announced 148
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 50% on the market, supply 80% 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.

Crafting
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
Crafting, Tower Defense; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Building
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 18,556 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $450k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 148 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  2. + SportsFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  4. + IdlerFair235 devs · median $1.7k · 338 announced
  5. + SolitaireFair12 devs · median $809 · 20 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds17 devs · median $174k · 39 announced
  7. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  10. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced

All 200 pairs on the Crafting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M Night of the Dead 2024 · $9.3M Outpost: Infinity Siege 2024 · $8.7M Craft The World 2014 · $8.6M The Front 2025 · $5.7M
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
Night of the Dead older $29.99 10,380 77% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,338,886) Jackto Studios
Outpost: Infinity Siege older $24.99 11,636 65% 349k $8.7M (exactly $8,723,509) Team Ranger
Craft The World older $18.99 15,074 88% 452k $8.6M (exactly $8,587,658) Dekovir Entertainment, Sibear Games
The Front $19.99 9,555 66% 287k $5.7M (exactly $5,730,134) Samar Studio
METAL GEAR SURVIVE older $29.99 3,687 64% 111k $3.3M (exactly $3,317,194) KONAMI
Castle Story older $9.99 9,279 67% 278k $2.8M (exactly $2,780,916) Sauropod Studio
Dig or Die older $11.99 3,863 90% 116k $1.4M (exactly $1,389,521) Gaddy Games
Deathtrap older $19.99 1,858 84% 56k $1.1M (exactly $1,114,243) NeocoreGames
GemCraft - Frostborn Wrath older $12.99 2,691 88% 81k $1.0M (exactly $1,048,683) Game in a Bottle
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
The Spotter: Dig or Die $12.99 1,792 84% 54k $698k (exactly $698,342) Puppyroar Games
Tower Factory · EA $14.99 1,220 89% 37k $549k (exactly $548,634) Gius Caminiti
Tangy TD $9.99 1,508 90% 45k $452k (exactly $451,948) Cakez
Human Host · EA $16.88 866 83% 26k $439k (exactly $438,542) Virtual Matrix Studio
Survival Machine $19.99 692 69% 21k $415k (exactly $414,992) Grape Pickers
Crown of Greed $19.99 680 60% 20k $408k (exactly $407,796) BLUM Entertainment
Machine Mind $19.99 567 71% 17k $340k (exactly $340,030) Chudo-Yudo Games
IDUN - Frontline Survival $14.99 685 77% 21k $308k (exactly $308,044) IDUN Interactive

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