Do I ship it?

GamesTower DefenseTower Defense + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Tower Defense?

Tower Defense + Psychological Horror

Only 8 developers shipped a Psychological-Horror Tower Defense in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Deck of Haunts, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 8 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $120. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 8 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 8 announced, ×1.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tower Defense + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 8
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $59 → $74k → $4.6k → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tower Defense + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 8
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $897 (exactly $897)
Top 25% $263k (exactly $263,023)
Top 5% $723k (exactly $723,238)
Developers, 2 yr 8
Released games 29
Announced 8
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 250% more developers than the period before.

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
Psychological Horror
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
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 10,964 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 $900, 1 in 4 over $260k, 1 in 20 over $720k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + Turn-Based CombatFair28 devs · median $839 · 34 announced

All 150 pairs on the Tower Defense page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
METAL GEAR SURVIVE older $29.99 3,687 64% 111k $3.3M (exactly $3,317,194) KONAMI
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
METAL SLUG ATTACK RELOADED older $9.99 1,639 69% 49k $491k (exactly $491,208) SNK CORPORATION
Desktop Defender $4.99 1,757 92% 53k $263k (exactly $263,023) Conradical Games
Gnomes Garden older $14.99 262 87% 7.9k $118k (exactly $117,821) Workroom7, Creobit
Skirmish Line older $9.99 353 87% 11k $106k (exactly $105,794) The Snarktopus
KUNKUN Defender older $2.99 822 97% 25k $74k (exactly $73,733) Seal
12 Labours of Hercules III: Girl Power older $2.99 795 87% 24k $71k (exactly $71,312) Jetdogs Studios, Zoom Out Games
TOTALLY BASEBALL older $14.99 149 87% 4.5k $67k (exactly $67,005) ZEVO GAMES
KUNKUN Defender 2 $4.99 294 94% 8.8k $44k (exactly $44,012) Seal
Spin to Survive $2.99 16 93% 480 $1.4k (exactly $1,435) Seal
Spirit of the Dome $2.99 10 100% 300 $897 (exactly $897) Deformed Studios
Bajillionaire · EA $8.01 3 100% 90 $721 (exactly $721) Fusionnist
IKUN vs XHZ $1.99 2 0% 60 $119 (exactly $119) 烤烤山药
BALL MACHINE $1.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) driftalltime
Slum Z $11.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) LIPA

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