Do I ship it?

Games › Tower Defense › Tower Defense + Point & Click

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Point & Click Tower Defense?

Tower Defense + Point & Click

Of 32 developers who shipped a Point & Click 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.. 28 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 23 developers shipped in the last year and 28 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 28 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tower Defense + Point & Click
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $450 → $386 → $238 → $150 → $449 → $300 → $450 (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tower Defense + Point & Click: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,556)
Top 5% $8.9k (exactly $8,880)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 84
Announced 28
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 170% on the market, supply 155% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Point & Click
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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, Point & Click; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Bullet Hell, Incremental
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $5.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $5.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 1,074 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $450, 1 in 4 over $1.5k, 1 in 20 over $8.8k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tower Defense with a different second tag, 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

miniBONG 2023 · $264k 12 Labours of Hercules 2015 · $207k Void Miner – Incremental Asteroids Roguelite 2025 · $125k Gnomes Garden 2015 · $118k Merchants of Kaidan 2014 · $103k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
miniBONG older $9.99 881 79% 26k $264k (exactly $264,036) Game Star
12 Labours of Hercules older $2.99 2,307 93% 69k $207k (exactly $206,938) Jetdogs Studios, Zoom Out Games
Void Miner – Incremental Asteroids Roguelite $5.99 698 83% 21k $125k (exactly $125,431) RyanJakob
Gnomes Garden older $14.99 262 87% 7.9k $118k (exactly $117,821) Workroom7, Creobit
Merchants of Kaidan older $14.99 230 60% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) Forever Entertainment S. A.
Fort Meow older $7.99 145 92% 4.4k $35k (exactly $34,756) Upper Class Walrus
宗门最后的长老 $2.99 99 96% 3.0k $8.9k (exactly $8,880) KUMA studio
Beat Shapes $2.99 83 81% 2.5k $7.4k (exactly $7,445) Inspiration Beggar
Slime Squisher $4.99 27 77% 810 $4.0k (exactly $4,042) EagleEye Games
Grumpy Gaffer $0.99 117 94% 3.5k $3.5k (exactly $3,475) RC Games Studio
Castle And Cursor $6.99 11 63% 330 $2.3k (exactly $2,307) Elite Gorgon Games
Shapes of Memory: Jigsaw Puzzle $3.99 13 100% 390 $1.6k (exactly $1,556) Creative Hand, Abyssal Studios
Buttons Up! 2 $3.99 13 76% 390 $1.6k (exactly $1,556) Jestercraft
Guard Protocol $4.99 10 70% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Dincicode
Zombocalypse Now! $10.99 3 66% 90 $989 (exactly $989) Pixel Drip Games

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