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Should I ship a Female-Led Tower Defense?
Tower Defense + Female Protagonist
Of 40 developers who shipped a Female-Led 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.. 57 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×4.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $72k, ×153 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 57 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $600 (exactly $600) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.0k (exactly $1,977) |
| Top 25% | $6.7k (exactly $6,651) |
| Top 5% | $73k (exactly $72,659) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 136 |
| Announced | 57 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Tower Defense
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Female Protagonist
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Tower Defense; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, RPG
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 1,051 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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
Orcs Must Die! 2 2012 · $5.8M 
Sanctum 2 2013 · $3.4M 
Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten (DX edition) 2012 · $1.2M 
Marfusha:Sentinel Girls 2021 · $747k 
Resist the succubus—The end of the female Knight 2024 · $698k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Orcs Must Die! 2 | older | $14.99 | 12,924 92% | 388k | $5.8M (exactly $5,811,923) | Robot Entertainment |
| | Sanctum 2 | older | $14.99 | 7,456 92% | 224k | $3.4M (exactly $3,352,963) | Coffee Stain Studios |
| | Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten (DX edition) | older | $14.99 | 2,722 94% | 82k | $1.2M (exactly $1,224,083) | Level Up Labs, LLC |
| | Marfusha:Sentinel Girls | older | $7.99 | 3,116 93% | 93k | $747k (exactly $746,905) | hinyari9 |
| | Resist the succubus—The end of the female Knight | older | $16.99 | 1,370 74% | 41k | $698k (exactly $698,289) | BoRoBoRoGame |
 | Cavalry Girls | older | $11.99 | 1,877 88% | 56k | $675k (exactly $675,157) | 中子星游戏研究所 |
 | Sanctum | older | $9.99 | 1,982 90% | 59k | $594k (exactly $594,005) | Coffee Stain Studios |
 | Touhou Monster TD ~ 幻想乡妖怪塔防 | older | $18.99 | 948 90% | 28k | $540k (exactly $540,076) | MyACG Studio |
 | Affogato | older | $16.99 | 975 82% | 29k | $497k (exactly $496,957) | Befun Studio |
 | Glory & Miserable Survivors DX | older | $9.99 | 1,488 88% | 45k | $446k (exactly $445,954) | TLACHTLI |
 | Defender's Quest 2: Mists of Ruin | $19.99 | 242 61% | 7.3k | $145k (exactly $145,127) | Level Up Labs, LLC | |
 | Abyss Kitchen | $11.99 | 202 89% | 6.1k | $73k (exactly $72,659) | Pico Games | |
 | Ancient Cultivatrix | $8.99 | 240 67% | 7.2k | $65k (exactly $64,728) | 五条虾仁(5 shrimps) | |
 | Antivirus Girl | $7.99 | 169 88% | 5.1k | $41k (exactly $40,509) | Chowbie | |
 | The Dream Labyrinth | $14.99 | 44 81% | 1.3k | $20k (exactly $19,787) | GGG`s | |
 | The Beast and the Princess | $12.99 | 32 96% | 960 | $12k (exactly $12,470) | Libragames | |
 | The Purple Forest Ritual | $5.99 | 51 62% | 1.5k | $9.2k (exactly $9,165) | Topyu_u | |
 | Honeymancer | · EA | $12.99 | 22 95% | 660 | $8.6k (exactly $8,573) | Lukas Lundin |
 | Mayhem Maidens | $14.99 | 19 89% | 570 | $8.5k (exactly $8,544) | Game Studio Inc., KADOKAWA | |
 | HauntedManager | $7.39 | 30 100% | 900 | $6.7k (exactly $6,651) | 魔女の脳 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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