Do I ship it?

GamesGod GameGod Game + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense God Game?

God Game + Tower Defense

Only 16 developers shipped a Tower Defense God Game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Deck of Haunts, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $22k, ×35 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $720k, ×1152 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 22 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 35.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 22 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
God Game + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $598 → $718 → $7.3k → $13k → $294k (still earning) → $8.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for God Game + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $839 (exactly $839)
Median $22k (exactly $22,292)
Top 25% $294k (exactly $293,597)
Top 5% $723k (exactly $723,238)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 48
Announced 22
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $14.99

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 30% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

God Game
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
God Game, Tower Defense
Price point
$14.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 4,573 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $840, median $22k, 1 in 4 over $290k, 1 in 20 over $720k.

3 in 10 developers made under $840. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + HistoricalFair19 devs · median $12k · 28 announced
  2. + EconomyFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  3. + PuzzleFair27 devs · median $1.2k · 30 announced
  4. + Inventory ManagementFair16 devs · median $1.1k · 15 announced
  5. + DestructionFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  6. + DystopianFair14 devs · median $898 · 10 announced
  7. + IdlerFair91 devs · median $839 · 95 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair79 devs · median $807 · 71 announced
  9. + ArcadeLong shot17 devs · median $390 · 20 announced
  10. + Farming SimLong shot22 devs · median $359 · 24 announced
  11. + AgricultureLong shot9 devs · median $180 · 7 announced
  12. + Base BuildingPoor odds37 devs · median $28k · 77 announced

All 96 pairs on the God Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Craft The World older $18.99 15,074 88% 452k $8.6M (exactly $8,587,658) Dekovir Entertainment, Sibear Games
Rise to Ruins older $14.99 7,234 87% 217k $3.3M (exactly $3,253,130) Raymond Doerr
Dungeons 2 older $19.99 2,292 79% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,374,512) Realmforge Studios
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
Gold Gold Adventure Gold $24.99 907 70% 27k $680k (exactly $679,978) Can Can Can a Man
Dungeon Tycoon $14.99 1,472 78% 44k $662k (exactly $661,958) Lunheim Studios
MINOS $17.99 544 88% 16k $294k (exactly $293,597) Artificer
Goblins of Elderstone older $19.99 305 69% 9.2k $183k (exactly $182,908) Outerdawn, Lost Goblin
Exodus Borealis older $19.99 243 91% 7.3k $146k (exactly $145,727) Smug Marmot Studios
These Doomed Isles $14.99 180 66% 5.4k $81k (exactly $80,946) Triplevision Games Limited
Underworld Overseer $19.99 52 90% 1.6k $31k (exactly $31,184) Myron Games
My Infamous Dungeon $14.99 63 76% 1.9k $28k (exactly $28,331) BoxFox Studios
ELARIENNE $7.99 93 61% 2.8k $22k (exactly $22,292) JDL
Scarecropia $9.99 42 88% 1.3k $13k (exactly $12,587) JYP Studio
Fantasy World / 幻想世界 $19.99 14 71% 420 $8.4k (exactly $8,396) Fantasy Studio

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