Do I ship it?

Games › Tower Defense › Tower Defense + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Tower Defense?

Tower Defense + Dystopian

Of 21 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 30 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 $990, ×2.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $51k, ×108 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 30 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 30 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tower Defense + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $599 → $3.9k → $3.1k → $0 → $989 (still earning) → $959 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tower Defense + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $989 (exactly $989)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,146)
Top 5% $51k (exactly $51,249)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 52
Announced 30
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 10% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Tower Defense; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Building
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, Minimalist, Stylized
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 962 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $990, 1 in 4 over $3.1k, 1 in 20 over $51k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

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

Marfusha:Sentinel Girls 2021 · $747k Cavalry Girls 2023 · $675k Decision: Red Daze 2022 · $513k Ark of Charon 2024 · $292k No Creeps Were Harmed TD 2024 · $281k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Marfusha:Sentinel Girls older $7.99 3,116 93% 93k $747k (exactly $746,905) hinyari9
Cavalry Girls older $11.99 1,877 88% 56k $675k (exactly $675,157) 中子星游戏研究所
Decision: Red Daze older $19.99 855 74% 26k $513k (exactly $512,743) FlyAnvil
Ark of Charon $24.99 389 75% 12k $292k (exactly $291,633) Angoo Inc., SUNSOFT
No Creeps Were Harmed TD older $19.99 468 88% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) MinMax Games Ltd.
Quarantineer older $9.99 307 80% 9.2k $92k (exactly $92,008) Papaonn
2112TD: Tower Defense Survival older $4.79 429 87% 13k $62k (exactly $61,647) Refinery Games
Decision Legacy Collection $9.99 171 83% 5.1k $51k (exactly $51,249) FlyAnvil
Red Rocket Defencism $7.99 172 98% 5.2k $41k (exactly $41,228) tiny cactus studio
Cartridge Defense older $11.99 80 91% 2.4k $29k (exactly $28,776) Out Gaming
BastionOS $3.30 173 97% 5.2k $17k (exactly $17,127) Feral Paw
packet.Breach() $14.99 7 100% 210 $3.1k (exactly $3,148) CeltiCo
DEAREND $6.99 15 73% 450 $3.1k (exactly $3,146) KUROSAWACREATE
Null and Void · EA $10.00 10 90% 300 $3.0k (exactly $3,000) Space Dragon Games
Neon Colony $12.99 5 100% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) ABCA Studios
Plant Girls: Insect Invasion $3.99 13 61% 390 $1.6k (exactly $1,556) HotaruPixie Games
Tin Lord $4.99 7 71% 210 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) IcosaCore

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