Games › Tower Defense › Tower Defense + Futuristic
Should I ship a Futuristic Tower Defense?
Tower Defense + Futuristic
Of 111 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 148 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $23k, ×49 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 148 games are announced against 72 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $3.0k (exactly $2,967) |
| Top 5% | $23k (exactly $23,181) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 111 |
| Released games | 252 |
| Announced | 148 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 50% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Futuristic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Tower Defense; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Base Building
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 3D, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 3,177 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. Nearly all of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 148 games are announced against 72 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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
Sanctum 2 2013 · $3.4M 
Cliff Empire 2019 · $2.3M 
X-Morph: Defense 2017 · $2.0M 
Taur 2020 · $1.5M 
Defense Grid: The Awakening 2008 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sanctum 2 | older | $14.99 | 7,456 92% | 224k | $3.4M (exactly $3,352,963) | Coffee Stain Studios |
| | Cliff Empire | older | $17.99 | 4,194 87% | 126k | $2.3M (exactly $2,263,502) | Lion's Shade |
| | X-Morph: Defense | older | $19.99 | 3,272 90% | 98k | $2.0M (exactly $1,962,218) | EXOR Studios |
| | Taur | older | $24.99 | 2,011 79% | 60k | $1.5M (exactly $1,507,647) | Echo Entertainment |
| | Defense Grid: The Awakening | older | $9.99 | 4,528 96% | 136k | $1.4M (exactly $1,357,042) | Hidden Path Entertainment |
 | Sanctum | older | $9.99 | 1,982 90% | 59k | $594k (exactly $594,005) | Coffee Stain Studios |
 | MarZ: Tactical Base Defense | older | $21.99 | 808 77% | 24k | $533k (exactly $533,038) | Giant Grey |
 | No Creeps Were Harmed TD | older | $19.99 | 468 88% | 14k | $281k (exactly $280,660) | MinMax Games Ltd. |
 | Desktop Defender | $4.99 | 1,757 92% | 53k | $263k (exactly $263,023) | Conradical Games | |
 | Variables 2 | older | $14.99 | 418 90% | 13k | $188k (exactly $187,975) | Asteroid Game Studio |
 | Keep Her Safe | · EA | $9.99 | 382 97% | 11k | $114k (exactly $114,485) | Gugu Studio |
 | Mineral Defense | $14.99 | 220 90% | 6.6k | $99k (exactly $98,934) | Corestone Games | |
 | Desperate Place | $10.99 | 253 66% | 7.6k | $83k (exactly $83,414) | BruceGalaxy | |
 | Artificial Extinction 2 | $19.99 | 113 77% | 3.4k | $68k (exactly $67,766) | 100Hr Games Inc | |
 | Ocean Keeper Co-op Drill Multiplayer | $5.99 | 129 75% | 3.9k | $23k (exactly $23,181) | RetroStyle Games | |
 | Beacon of Neyda | $14.99 | 40 87% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,988) | Ghost Creative Studio | |
 | Golemworks | $6.99 | 82 90% | 2.5k | $17k (exactly $17,195) | evilalbert | |
 | BastionOS | $3.30 | 173 97% | 5.2k | $17k (exactly $17,127) | Feral Paw | |
 | 2089 - Space Divided | $17.99 | 28 75% | 840 | $15k (exactly $15,112) | CoastGames GmbH |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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