Do I ship it?

Games › Tower Defense › Tower Defense + Military

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Military Tower Defense?

Tower Defense + Military

Of 79 developers who shipped a Military 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.. 121 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $990, ×1.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×1968 the market median. Revenue is up 780% on the market; 121 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 780% on the market, 121 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tower Defense + Military
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 79
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $30 → $599 → $599 → $449 → $450 → $2.7k (still earning) → $1.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tower Defense + Military: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 79
Bottom 30% $270 (exactly $270)
Median $989 (exactly $989)
Top 25% $9.0k (exactly $8,992)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663)
Developers, 2 yr 79
Released games 214
Announced 121
Effort 6 / 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 up 780% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Tower Defense
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Military
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Tower Defense; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, RTS
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 28,760 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $990, 1 in 4 over $8.9k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 121 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tower Defense with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + DwarvesStrong odds10 devs · median $6.7k · 9 announced
  2. + MiningFair33 devs · median $6.3k · 45 announced
  3. + Survival HorrorFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 16 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair15 devs · median $1.6k · 20 announced
  5. + TanksFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 13 announced
  6. + MechsFair24 devs · median $1.5k · 24 announced
  7. + IdlerFair108 devs · median $1.2k · 136 announced
  8. + PuzzleFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 67 announced
  9. + Gun CustomizationFair26 devs · median $958 · 32 announced
  10. + LogicFair40 devs · median $955 · 44 announced
  11. + On-Rails ShooterFair11 devs · median $899 · 12 announced
  12. + Psychological HorrorFair8 devs · median $897 · 8 announced

All 150 pairs on the Tower Defense page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M Outpost: Infinity Siege 2024 · $8.7M Starship Troopers: Terran Command 2022 · $8.3M Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) 2013 · $5.3M Becastled 2025 · $3.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Outpost: Infinity Siege older $24.99 11,636 65% 349k $8.7M (exactly $8,723,509) Team Ranger
Starship Troopers: Terran Command older $29.99 9,214 87% 276k $8.3M (exactly $8,289,836) The Artistocrats
Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) older $9.99 17,564 97% 527k $5.3M (exactly $5,263,931) Firefly Studios
Becastled $19.99 5,349 81% 160k $3.2M (exactly $3,207,795) Mana Potion Studios
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
Sir, We Have an Orc Problem $9.99 4,123 86% 124k $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) Mumpitz Games
AI War 2 older $19.99 1,130 87% 34k $678k (exactly $677,661) Arcen Games
Stickman Trenches older $5.99 1,922 81% 58k $345k (exactly $345,383) Big Play Games
Home Wars older $9.99 1,141 78% 34k $342k (exactly $341,958) Insane Dreamers
Warfare Legacy Collection $9.99 1,115 92% 33k $334k (exactly $334,166) Con Artist Games
There Are No Orcs $8.99 1,188 93% 36k $320k (exactly $320,404) BaseTrade Studio
Grit and Valor - 1949 $19.99 274 75% 8.2k $164k (exactly $164,318) Milky Tea Studios
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室
D.O.T. Defence $14.99 196 85% 5.9k $88k (exactly $88,141) Rattleaxe Games
Artificial Extinction 2 $19.99 113 77% 3.4k $68k (exactly $67,766) 100Hr Games Inc

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