Games › Tower Defense › Tower Defense + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Tower Defense?
Tower Defense + Horror
Of 31 developers who shipped a Horror 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.. 51 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $740k, ×1578 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 51 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,439) |
| Top 25% | $44k (exactly $44,012) |
| Top 5% | $749k (exactly $749,486) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 31 |
| Released games | 92 |
| Announced | 51 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 25% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Horror
- 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Building
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Cute, Isometric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 5,885 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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
7 Days to Die 2024 · $369M 
METAL GEAR SURVIVE 2018 · $3.3M 
Dread Dawn 2024 · $1.3M 
DarkSwitch 2026 · $749k 
Deck of Haunts 2025 · $723k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 7 Days to Die | older | $44.99 | 273,589 87% | 8.2M | $369M (exactly $369,263,073) | The Fun Pimps |
| | METAL GEAR SURVIVE | older | $29.99 | 3,687 64% | 111k | $3.3M (exactly $3,317,194) | KONAMI |
| | Dread Dawn | $19.99 | 2,113 71% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,267,166) | Kioop | |
| | DarkSwitch | $34.99 | 714 77% | 21k | $749k (exactly $749,486) | Cyber Temple | |
| | Deck of Haunts | $19.99 | 1,206 84% | 36k | $723k (exactly $723,238) | Mantis | |
 | Let Them Come | older | $7.99 | 1,084 84% | 33k | $260k (exactly $259,835) | Tuatara Games |
 | Yokai Art: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons | older | $6.99 | 1,132 89% | 34k | $237k (exactly $237,380) | Secret Labo |
 | Ghost Master: Resurrection | $19.99 | 374 82% | 11k | $224k (exactly $224,288) | Mechano Story Studio | |
 | Alien Shooter TD | older | $9.99 | 676 84% | 20k | $203k (exactly $202,597) | Sigma Team Inc. |
 | Deadly 30 | older | $4.99 | 1,155 80% | 35k | $173k (exactly $172,904) | Ignatus Zuk and Gonzalo Villagomez |
 | After Long Night | $9.99 | 381 72% | 11k | $114k (exactly $114,186) | 疯狗工作室 | |
 | Yokai Art 2: Tales of the Nine-Tails | $9.99 | 314 75% | 9.4k | $94k (exactly $94,106) | Secret Labo | |
 | Dream Lust | $4.99 | 412 84% | 12k | $62k (exactly $61,676) | Cat Paw Game | |
 | KUNKUN Defender 2 | $4.99 | 294 94% | 8.8k | $44k (exactly $44,012) | Seal | |
 | DOLLMAKER | $8.99 | 45 97% | 1.4k | $12k (exactly $12,136) | STH | |
 | Luna Hollow - Dream Eater Defense | $5.99 | 32 53% | 960 | $5.8k (exactly $5,750) | CHARON, STUDIO CHARON, 月桂樹冠 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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