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Should I ship a Dragon Tower Defense?
Tower Defense + Dragons
Only 18 developers shipped a Dragon 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, Bean Beasts, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×3.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $47k, ×76 the market median. Revenue is up 760% on the market; 33 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,097) |
| Top 25% | $8.4k (exactly $8,392) |
| Top 5% | $47k (exactly $47,426) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 46 |
| Announced | 33 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 up 760% on the market, supply 160% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Dragons
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Tower Defense; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Roguelite
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 502 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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
Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance TD 2024 · $6.2M 
DRAGON QUEST HEROES™ Slime Edition 2015 · $1.4M 
Bean Beasts 2025 · $47k 
Sunbreak War 2026 · $33k 
Secrets of Magonia 2024 · $32k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Kingdom Rush 5: Alliance TD | older | $19.99 | 10,363 87% | 311k | $6.2M (exactly $6,214,691) | Ironhide Game Studio |
| | DRAGON QUEST HEROES™ Slime Edition | older | $39.99 | 1,150 67% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,379,655) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | Bean Beasts | $13.99 | 113 89% | 3.4k | $47k (exactly $47,426) | Anxious Noob | |
| | Sunbreak War | $8.99 | 122 81% | 3.7k | $33k (exactly $32,903) | Candlelight Studio | |
| | Secrets of Magonia | older | $10.99 | 97 91% | 2.9k | $32k (exactly $31,981) | Elixion |
 | My Infamous Dungeon | $14.99 | 63 76% | 1.9k | $28k (exactly $28,331) | BoxFox Studios | |
 | Castle Woodwarf 2 | older | $6.99 | 65 70% | 2.0k | $14k (exactly $13,630) | Domo Games |
 | Abyss Horde | $4.99 | 89 84% | 2.7k | $13k (exactly $13,323) | Solo Gaming | |
 | Defend The Bits TD | · EA older | $12.99 | 34 76% | 1.0k | $13k (exactly $13,250) | PlaySide North |
 | Need a packet? | older | $13.99 | 27 51% | 810 | $11k (exactly $11,332) | Marginal act |
 | Rustic Defense | $9.99 | 28 96% | 840 | $8.4k (exactly $8,392) | Lasot Interactive | |
 | Open The Gate: Just A Little | $5.99 | 37 75% | 1.1k | $6.6k (exactly $6,649) | Abubu Dance | |
 | Deck Vs Doom | $5.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) | Danial Rashidi | |
 | Classic Tower Defense 2 | $2.99 | 24 95% | 720 | $2.2k (exactly $2,153) | Blacksmith Forge | |
 | New Yankee: Jelly Chaos | $6.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $2.1k (exactly $2,097) | Alawar Casual | |
 | Dragons Reef | $19.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | Radoslaw Kutowinski |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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