Games › Grand Strategy › Grand Strategy + Tower Defense
Should I ship a Tower Defense Grand Strategy?
Grand Strategy + Tower Defense
Only 17 developers shipped a Tower Defense Grand Strategy 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, Creeper World IXE, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×1.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×342 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 25 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) |
| Top 25% | $6.5k (exactly $6,472) |
| Top 5% | $513k (exactly $512,743) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 71 |
| Announced | 25 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 45% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Grand Strategy
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Tower Defense
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Grand Strategy, Tower Defense; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RTS, Strategy, Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Isometric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 1,156 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Grand Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelikeFair
- + SportsFair
- + RogueliteFair
- + CrimeFair
- + RacingFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceLong shot
- + TabletopLong shot
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Total War: WARHAMMER III 2022 · $189M 
Creeper World 4 2020 · $3.4M 
AI War 2 2019 · $678k 
Creeper World IXE 2024 · $513k 
Home Wars 2017 · $342k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Total War: WARHAMMER III | older | $59.99 | 104,822 71% | 3.1M | $189M (exactly $188,648,153) | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive |
| | Creeper World 4 | older | $24.99 | 4,553 94% | 137k | $3.4M (exactly $3,413,384) | Knuckle Cracker |
| | AI War 2 | older | $19.99 | 1,130 87% | 34k | $678k (exactly $677,661) | Arcen Games |
| | Creeper World IXE | $19.99 | 855 69% | 26k | $513k (exactly $512,743) | Knuckle Cracker | |
| | Home Wars | older | $9.99 | 1,141 78% | 34k | $342k (exactly $341,958) | Insane Dreamers |
 | AI War: Fleet Command | older | $9.99 | 992 85% | 30k | $297k (exactly $297,302) | Arcen Games |
 | Attack on Toys | · EA older | $6.99 | 1,158 93% | 35k | $243k (exactly $242,833) | N7T-GAMES |
 | Love n War: Warlord by Chance | older | $4.99 | 1,305 86% | 39k | $195k (exactly $195,358) | Reborn Entertainment |
 | Goblins of Elderstone | older | $19.99 | 305 69% | 9.2k | $183k (exactly $182,908) | Outerdawn, Lost Goblin |
 | Royal Defense | older | $14.99 | 246 70% | 7.4k | $111k (exactly $110,626) | Good Games, Creobit |
 | Repterra | $19.99 | 122 90% | 3.7k | $73k (exactly $73,163) | Chute Apps | |
 | Royal Lord - 王权领主 | $14.99 | 40 90% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,988) | 开发鸭 | |
 | Legacy of Sin: Ill-Boding | $12.99 | 23 69% | 690 | $9.0k (exactly $8,963) | Absolute Power Game Studio | |
 | Heroic Aegisio: Origins | $7.99 | 27 77% | 810 | $6.5k (exactly $6,472) | Vview Games | |
 | Gold Defence | $9.99 | 20 65% | 600 | $6.0k (exactly $5,994) | Gamesforgames | |
 | Winning Tactics | $9.99 | 14 78% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Gamesforgames | |
 | Summoner's Automata | $9.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Gamesforgames | |
 | Medievaly: Battle Simulator | $8.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $3.5k (exactly $3,506) | Steelkrill Studio | |
 | Grow Empire: Rome | $3.99 | 28 64% | 840 | $3.4k (exactly $3,352) | Games Station |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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