Do I ship it?

Games › Tower Defense › Tower Defense + Cyberpunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cyberpunk Tower Defense?

Tower Defense + Cyberpunk

Of 34 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk 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.. 34 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $83k, ×133 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 34 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 34 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tower Defense + Cyberpunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $60 → $2.2k → $4.2k → $718 → $3.1k → $1.9k → $479 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tower Defense + Cyberpunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $2.9k (exactly $2,876)
Top 5% $83k (exactly $83,414)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 74
Announced 34
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Cyberpunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Tower Defense; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelite, Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,231 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $2.8k, 1 in 20 over $83k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

WAR RATS: The Rat em Up 2025 · $137k Desperate Place 2025 · $83k Pixel Gladiator 2017 · $54k PROFITS 2167: Planetary Resource Optimization & Freight Infrastructure Technician Simulator 2026 · EA · $44k CyberTD 2023 · $30k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
WAR RATS: The Rat em Up $11.99 382 95% 11k $137k (exactly $137,405) wootusart Industries
Desperate Place $10.99 253 66% 7.6k $83k (exactly $83,414) BruceGalaxy
Pixel Gladiator older $4.99 359 81% 11k $54k (exactly $53,742) Flying Islands Team
PROFITS 2167: Planetary Resource Optimization & Freight Infrastructure Technician Simulator · EA $6.99 209 98% 6.3k $44k (exactly $43,827) Simple Software Solutions
CyberTD older $19.99 50 66% 1.5k $30k (exactly $29,985) Clockwork Origins
Cartridge Defense older $11.99 80 91% 2.4k $29k (exactly $28,776) Out Gaming
Space Station Tycoon older $4.99 190 56% 5.7k $28k (exactly $28,443) Lunheim Studios
Psionic Awake $4.99 184 63% 5.5k $28k (exactly $27,545) Mighty Cat
Armed to the Gears older $4.99 178 60% 5.3k $27k (exactly $26,647) WS Software
Nuke Them All older $9.99 76 82% 2.3k $23k (exactly $22,777) Indie PapaMike
Book Shooter $6.99 107 86% 3.2k $22k (exactly $22,438) SOS GameLab.
Everwarder $8.99 55 90% 1.7k $15k (exactly $14,834) qLate
packet.Breach() $14.99 7 100% 210 $3.1k (exactly $3,148) CeltiCo
Null and Void · EA $10.00 10 90% 300 $3.0k (exactly $3,000) Space Dragon Games
Tortuga City $7.99 12 83% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) HerrGrievous
KeyFortress · EA $7.99 12 83% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Daisen

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