Do I ship it?

Games › Economy › Economy + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense Economy game?

Economy + Tower Defense

Of 78 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Economy game 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.. 135 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 $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $690k, ×1112 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 135 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 135 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 78
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $959 → $1.2k → $2.7k → $2.6k → $1.9k → $718 → $1.3k (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 78
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $6.1k (exactly $6,115)
Top 5% $698k (exactly $698,342)
Developers, 2 yr 78
Released games 149
Announced 135
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 flat on the market, supply 125% 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.

Economy
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
Economy, Tower Defense; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, City Builder
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 23,671 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $6.1k, 1 in 20 over $690k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 135 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorFair116 devs · median $22k · 125 announced
  2. + Football (Soccer)Fair21 devs · median $6.8k · 29 announced
  3. + ScienceFair39 devs · median $5.9k · 39 announced
  4. + MiningFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  5. + LootFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  6. + CollectathonFair125 devs · median $3.8k · 151 announced
  7. + God GameFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  8. + Auto BattlerFair59 devs · median $2.4k · 79 announced
  9. + IdlerFair441 devs · median $2.3k · 589 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair408 devs · median $2.2k · 612 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  12. + Strategy RPGFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced

All 161 pairs on the Economy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition 2025 · $6.4M Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) 2013 · $5.3M Stronghold: Definitive Edition 2023 · $4.4M Becastled 2025 · $3.2M
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
Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition $19.99 10,627 92% 319k $6.4M (exactly $6,373,012) Firefly Studios
Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) older $9.99 17,564 97% 527k $5.3M (exactly $5,263,931) Firefly Studios
Stronghold: Definitive Edition older $14.99 9,787 86% 294k $4.4M (exactly $4,401,214) Firefly Studios
Becastled $19.99 5,349 81% 160k $3.2M (exactly $3,207,795) Mana Potion Studios
Cliff Empire older $17.99 4,194 87% 126k $2.3M (exactly $2,263,502) Lion's Shade
Stronghold HD (2012) older $5.99 8,651 95% 260k $1.6M (exactly $1,554,585) Firefly Studios
DarkSwitch $34.99 714 77% 21k $749k (exactly $749,486) Cyber Temple
The Spotter: Dig or Die $12.99 1,792 84% 54k $698k (exactly $698,342) Puppyroar Games
AI War 2 older $19.99 1,130 87% 34k $678k (exactly $677,661) Arcen Games
Dungeon Tycoon $14.99 1,472 78% 44k $662k (exactly $661,958) Lunheim Studios
Gnomes $9.99 1,757 94% 53k $527k (exactly $526,573) DYSTOPIAN
Crown of Greed $19.99 680 60% 20k $408k (exactly $407,796) BLUM Entertainment
Calyx · EA $24.99 471 88% 14k $353k (exactly $353,109) Studio 568
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
Settlements Rising $18.99 416 80% 12k $237k (exactly $236,995) The Catalyst Crew

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