Do I ship it?

Games › Tower Defense › Tower Defense + Nature

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Nature Tower Defense?

Tower Defense + Nature

Of 47 developers who shipped a Nature 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.. 76 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 28 developers shipped in the last year and 76 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 76 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tower Defense + Nature
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 47
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $450 → $1.6k → $300 → $748 → $449 → $179 → $1.4k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tower Defense + Nature: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 47
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,618)
Top 5% $35k (exactly $35,365)
Developers, 2 yr 47
Released games 114
Announced 76
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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

Free games: 14%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Tower Defense
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Nature
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Tower Defense; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Base Building
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.49 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.49 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 1,101 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.6k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. Nearly all of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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

Crab God 2024 · $161k Hive Blight 2026 · EA · $138k Ash & Adam's Existential Treads 2026 · $71k DEFENDUN : Hero Defense 2024 · $43k Chrysalis 2024 · $35k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Crab God older $19.99 268 82% 8.0k $161k (exactly $160,720) Chaos Theory Games
Hive Blight · EA $12.49 367 94% 11k $138k (exactly $137,515) OptizOnion
Ash & Adam's Existential Treads $6.99 340 92% 10k $71k (exactly $71,298) Ash & Adam's Games
DEFENDUN : Hero Defense older $8.99 159 72% 4.8k $43k (exactly $42,882) MYMEStudio
Chrysalis $9.99 118 84% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,365) Metamorph Games
Siegebreaker older $11.99 72 86% 2.2k $26k (exactly $25,898) Immortal Forge
This Isn't Just Tower Defense $6.99 122 61% 3.7k $26k (exactly $25,583) Pri Games
PolyCore Defense older $9.99 54 88% 1.6k $16k (exactly $16,184) TorksGame
Automata Empire older $8.99 48 66% 1.4k $13k (exactly $12,946) Nonadecimal Creative
They Сame From Above older $24.99 16 62% 480 $12k (exactly $11,995) Piece Of Voxel
Honeymancer · EA $12.99 22 95% 660 $8.6k (exactly $8,573) Lukas Lundin
Beyond the Grove · EA $14.99 18 77% 540 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) Not a Duck
The Last Drop $4.99 50 64% 1.5k $7.5k (exactly $7,485) Bonobos Games
Zoo Wars $3.99 34 100% 1.0k $4.1k (exactly $4,070) Studio GG
Guardian Grids $4.99 15 66% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) YogurtGames
Maze It Out $4.99 15 93% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) Limit Test Games

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