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Should I ship an Online Co-Op Tower Defense?
Online Co-Op + Tower Defense
Of 55 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op 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.. 134 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $1.1M, ×763 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 134 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $538 (exactly $538) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,627) |
| Top 25% | $38k (exactly $38,381) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 55 |
| Released games | 185 |
| Announced | 134 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 35% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Online Co-Op
- effort 8 / 10 · low · netcode, lobbies and state sync across machines
- Tower Defense
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, Tower Defense; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Action, Base Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 69% positive over 19,945 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 134 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Bullet HeavenStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + TypingFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
7 Days to Die 2024 · $369M 
Total War: WARHAMMER III 2022 · $189M 
Bloons TD 6 2018 · $147M 
The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M 
Kingdom Two Crowns 2018 · $19M | 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 |
| | Total War: WARHAMMER III | older | $59.99 | 104,822 71% | 3.1M | $189M (exactly $188,648,153) | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive |
| | Bloons TD 6 | older | $13.99 | 349,859 97% | 10M | $147M (exactly $146,835,822) | Ninja Kiwi |
| | The Riftbreaker | older | $29.99 | 22,127 90% | 664k | $20M (exactly $19,907,662) | EXOR Studios |
| | Kingdom Two Crowns | older | $19.99 | 31,259 90% | 938k | $19M (exactly $18,746,022) | Fury Studios, Coatsink |
 | Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ | older | $29.99 | 15,372 71% | 461k | $14M (exactly $13,830,188) | PopCap |
 | Orcs Must Die! 3 | older | $29.99 | 10,930 85% | 328k | $9.8M (exactly $9,833,721) | Robot Entertainment |
 | Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense | older | $24.99 | 12,607 86% | 378k | $9.5M (exactly $9,451,468) | AutoAttack Games |
 | Night of the Dead | older | $29.99 | 10,380 77% | 311k | $9.3M (exactly $9,338,886) | Jackto Studios |
 | Cultivation Tales | older | $19.99 | 12,560 38% | 377k | $7.5M (exactly $7,532,232) | Ac Games |
 | The Front | $19.99 | 9,555 66% | 287k | $5.7M (exactly $5,730,134) | Samar Studio | |
 | Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap | $29.99 | 4,053 69% | 122k | $3.6M (exactly $3,646,484) | Robot Entertainment | |
 | EverSiege: Untold Ages | $19.99 | 1,906 68% | 57k | $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) | Tindalos Interactive | |
 | Human Host | · EA | $16.88 | 866 83% | 26k | $439k (exactly $438,542) | Virtual Matrix Studio |
 | Axon TD: Uprising - Tower Defense | $19.99 | 706 85% | 21k | $423k (exactly $423,388) | Element Studios | |
 | Survival Machine | $19.99 | 692 69% | 21k | $415k (exactly $414,992) | Grape Pickers | |
 | Sineus Arena Survivors | $10.99 | 1,150 77% | 35k | $379k (exactly $379,155) | Sineus Games | |
 | Guardians of the Sanctree | $19.99 | 284 72% | 8.5k | $170k (exactly $170,315) | HuCang Studio | |
 | TDS - Tower Defense Strategy | $17.99 | 315 81% | 9.5k | $170k (exactly $170,005) | Blockage | |
 | 7 Days Blood Moons | · EA | $9.99 | 418 40% | 13k | $125k (exactly $125,275) | iLLOGIKA |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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