Do I ship it?

Games › Management › Management + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense Management game?

Management + Tower Defense

Of 158 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Management game 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.. 350 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $660k, ×1054 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 350 games are announced against 100 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 350 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 158
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $1.8k → $1.0k → $6.0k → $3.3k → $1.9k → $3.1k (still earning) → $628 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 158
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,952)
Top 5% $662k (exactly $661,958)
Developers, 2 yr 158
Released games 422
Announced 350
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 45% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Management
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
Management, Tower Defense; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Resource Management
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 20,034 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $660k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 68 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 350 games are announced against 100 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

They Are Billions 2019 · $42M Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) 2013 · $5.3M Wall World 2023 · $2.4M Cliff Empire 2019 · $2.3M Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim 2025 · $2.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
They Are Billions older $29.99 46,223 85% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,586,833) Numantian Games
Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) older $9.99 17,564 97% 527k $5.3M (exactly $5,263,931) Firefly Studios
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
Cliff Empire older $17.99 4,194 87% 126k $2.3M (exactly $2,263,502) Lion's Shade
Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim $24.90 2,938 77% 88k $2.2M (exactly $2,194,686) Rockbee Team
Until We Die older $16.99 4,221 62% 127k $2.2M (exactly $2,151,444) Pixeye Games
Nordhold $19.99 2,875 87% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) StunForge
Dungeons 2 older $19.99 2,292 79% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,374,512) Realmforge Studios
Drill Core $19.99 2,130 84% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,277,361) Hungry Couch Games
Sir, We Have an Orc Problem $9.99 4,123 86% 124k $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) Mumpitz Games
EverSiege: Untold Ages $19.99 1,906 68% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) Tindalos Interactive
DarkSwitch $34.99 714 77% 21k $749k (exactly $749,486) Cyber Temple
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
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
Tower Factory · EA $14.99 1,220 89% 37k $549k (exactly $548,634) Gius Caminiti

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