Do I ship it?

GamesDungeon CrawlerDungeon Crawler + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Tower Defense

Of 24 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Dungeon Crawler 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.. 37 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×359 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 37 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 11.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 37 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $34k → $103k → $28k → $3.6k → $839 (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 25% $73k (exactly $72,659)
Top 5% $170k (exactly $170,315)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 63
Announced 37
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 95% on the market, supply 100% 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.

Dungeon Crawler
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
Dungeon Crawler, Tower Defense; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Building, Management
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Hand-drawn
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 3,204 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $5.4k, 1 in 4 over $72k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Time ManagementFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + GamblingFair16 devs · median $7.0k · 17 announced
  3. + DiceFair24 devs · median $5.1k · 32 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair29 devs · median $2.3k · 38 announced
  5. + Local Co-OpFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 60 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair65 devs · median $1.0k · 74 announced
  7. + Word GameFair12 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  8. + ThrillerFair45 devs · median $716 · 46 announced
  9. + Walking SimulatorFair59 devs · median $479 · 62 announced
  10. + Score AttackFair29 devs · median $479 · 33 announced
  11. + MMORPGPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds8 devs · median $55k · 30 announced

All 175 pairs on the Dungeon Crawler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dungeon of the ENDLESS™ older $11.99 9,419 87% 283k $3.4M (exactly $3,388,014) AMPLITUDE Studios
Dungeons 2 older $19.99 2,292 79% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,374,512) Realmforge Studios
ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition older $14.99 2,953 64% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,964) AMPLITUDE Studios
Overdungeon older $14.99 2,854 79% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,444) Pocketpair
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II older $14.99 1,954 70% 59k $879k (exactly $878,714) NeocoreGames
Dungeon Tycoon $14.99 1,472 78% 44k $662k (exactly $661,958) Lunheim Studios
Dwerve older $19.99 426 70% 13k $255k (exactly $255,472) Half Human Games
Guardians of the Sanctree $19.99 284 72% 8.5k $170k (exactly $170,315) HuCang Studio
CD 2: Trap Master older $14.99 330 79% 9.9k $148k (exactly $148,401) ACE ENTERTAINMENT
Necronator: Dead Wrong older $12.99 353 67% 11k $138k (exactly $137,564) Toge Productions
Hive Blight · EA $12.49 367 94% 11k $138k (exactly $137,515) OptizOnion
Legacy of Defense $7.99 545 72% 16k $131k (exactly $130,636) Enter the Game Studios
Tech Blast $39.99 90 92% 2.7k $108k (exactly $107,973) Galactic Geckon
Abyss Kitchen $11.99 202 89% 6.1k $73k (exactly $72,659) Pico Games
Psionic Awake $4.99 184 63% 5.5k $28k (exactly $27,545) Mighty Cat
Realm $29.99 11 72% 330 $9.9k (exactly $9,897) Mighty Pixel Crew
Legacy of Sin: Ill-Boding $12.99 23 69% 690 $9.0k (exactly $8,963) Absolute Power Game Studio
MagicCar of Delicious $9.99 26 76% 780 $7.8k (exactly $7,792) YINGGUO GAME

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