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Should I ship a Mythological Tower Defense?
Tower Defense + Mythology
Of 24 developers who shipped a Mythological 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.. 44 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×462 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 44 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,246) |
| Top 25% | $9.2k (exactly $9,165) |
| Top 5% | $290k (exactly $290,134) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 63 |
| Announced | 44 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Mythology
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Tower Defense; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Strategy, Survival
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 2,518 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 6 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 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
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess 2024 · $2.3M 
Achilles: Survivor 2025 · $392k 
Night is Coming 2025 · EA · $290k 
12 Labours of Hercules 2015 · $207k 
Tiny Tactics 2022 · $198k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess | older | $39.99 | 1,898 92% | 57k | $2.3M (exactly $2,277,031) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Achilles: Survivor | $8.99 | 1,454 81% | 44k | $392k (exactly $392,144) | Dark Point Games | |
| | Night is Coming | · EA | $24.99 | 387 59% | 12k | $290k (exactly $290,134) | Wild Forest Studio |
| | 12 Labours of Hercules | older | $2.99 | 2,307 93% | 69k | $207k (exactly $206,938) | Jetdogs Studios, Zoom Out Games |
| | Tiny Tactics | older | $9.99 | 661 82% | 20k | $198k (exactly $198,102) | Tiny Forge Gaming |
 | Legendary Hoplite | older | $14.99 | 335 63% | 10k | $151k (exactly $150,650) | TripleBricksGames |
 | 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 | |
 | 12 Labours of Hercules III: Girl Power | older | $2.99 | 795 87% | 24k | $71k (exactly $71,312) | Jetdogs Studios, Zoom Out Games |
 | Ancient Cultivatrix | $8.99 | 240 67% | 7.2k | $65k (exactly $64,728) | 五条虾仁(5 shrimps) | |
 | Chrysalis | $9.99 | 118 84% | 3.5k | $35k (exactly $35,365) | Metamorph Games | |
 | The Purple Forest Ritual | $5.99 | 51 62% | 1.5k | $9.2k (exactly $9,165) | Topyu_u | |
 | Gods & Gore | · EA | $9.99 | 20 75% | 600 | $6.0k (exactly $5,994) | Berm Games |
 | Sunstone War | $4.99 | 34 97% | 1.0k | $5.1k (exactly $5,090) | Blukulélé, Cyrolis Dev | |
 | Trolls vs Vikings: Reborn | $5.99 | 28 92% | 840 | $5.0k (exactly $5,032) | Megapop | |
 | Valdrax Beyond the Rift | · EA | $12.99 | 6 83% | 180 | $2.3k (exactly $2,338) | Ganea Ion |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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