Do I ship it?

GamesProcedural GenerationProcedural Generation + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Procedural Generation Tower Defense?

Procedural Generation + Tower Defense

Of 127 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation 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.. 184 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $540k, ×1155 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 184 games are announced against 73 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 184 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Procedural Generation + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 127
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $3.1k → $2.2k → $4.3k → $1.6k → $779 → $1.8k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Procedural Generation + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 127
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,752)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,285)
Top 5% $549k (exactly $548,634)
Developers, 2 yr 127
Released games 271
Announced 184
Effort 4 / 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 15% on the market, supply 35% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Procedural Generation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Tower Defense
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Procedural Generation, Tower Defense; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Roguelike
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 21,113 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $540k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 56 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 184 games are announced against 73 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Procedural Generation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SnowFair11 devs · median $3.0k · 16 announced
  2. + Traditional RoguelikeFair71 devs · median $2.0k · 93 announced
  3. + DetectiveFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced
  4. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  5. + TypingFair26 devs · median $1.1k · 11 announced
  6. + IdlerFair98 devs · median $807 · 107 announced
  7. + LogicFair137 devs · median $478 · 149 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair57 devs · median $449 · 62 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair58 devs · median $418 · 56 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds31 devs · median $77k · 95 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds22 devs · median $30k · 35 announced

All 222 pairs on the Procedural Generation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
The Riftbreaker older $29.99 22,127 90% 664k $20M (exactly $19,907,662) EXOR Studios
Dome Keeper older $17.99 18,976 92% 569k $10M (exactly $10,241,347) Bippinbits
Dungeon of the ENDLESS™ older $11.99 9,419 87% 283k $3.4M (exactly $3,388,014) AMPLITUDE Studios
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
Rogue Tower older $14.99 5,772 82% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,595,668) Die of Death Games
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
Emberward $19.99 3,775 96% 113k $2.3M (exactly $2,263,868) Refic Games
Nordhold $19.99 2,875 87% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) StunForge
ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition older $14.99 2,953 64% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,964) AMPLITUDE Studios
EverSiege: Untold Ages $19.99 1,906 68% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) Tindalos Interactive
Gold Gold Adventure Gold $24.99 907 70% 27k $680k (exactly $679,978) Can Can Can a Man
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
Tower Factory · EA $14.99 1,220 89% 37k $549k (exactly $548,634) Gius Caminiti
Gnomes $9.99 1,757 94% 53k $527k (exactly $526,573) DYSTOPIAN
Human Host · EA $16.88 866 83% 26k $439k (exactly $438,542) Virtual Matrix Studio
Cubic Cosmos $12.99 941 92% 28k $367k (exactly $366,708) Inkstone Atelier

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