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Should I ship a PvP Tower Defense?
PvP + Tower Defense
Of 46 developers who shipped a PvP 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.. 110 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 110 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper, while revenue is down 75% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $5.8k (exactly $5,838) |
| Top 5% | $125k (exactly $125,275) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 46 |
| Released games | 173 |
| Announced | 110 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 75% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 32%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- PvP
- effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
- Tower Defense
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP, Tower Defense; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Co-op, Action
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 7 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 $7.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 18,398 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 110 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
Total War: WARHAMMER III 2022 · $189M 
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ 2020 · $14M 
Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense 2021 · $9.5M 
Night of the Dead 2024 · $9.3M 
Cultivation Tales 2024 · $7.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Total War: WARHAMMER III | older | $59.99 | 104,822 71% | 3.1M | $189M (exactly $188,648,153) | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive |
| | Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ | older | $29.99 | 15,372 71% | 461k | $14M (exactly $13,830,188) | PopCap |
| | 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 |
 | Mindustry | older | $9.99 | 24,608 95% | 738k | $7.4M (exactly $7,375,018) | AnukenDev |
 | Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition | $19.99 | 10,627 92% | 319k | $6.4M (exactly $6,373,012) | Firefly Studios | |
 | Plants vs. Zombies™: Replanted | $19.99 | 6,898 66% | 207k | $4.1M (exactly $4,136,731) | PopCap Games, The Lost Pixels | |
 | Element TD 2 - Tower Defense | older | $14.99 | 2,848 90% | 85k | $1.3M (exactly $1,280,746) | Element Studios |
 | Warstone TD | older | $14.99 | 2,668 85% | 80k | $1.2M (exactly $1,199,800) | Battlecruiser Games |
 | 7 Days Blood Moons | · EA | $9.99 | 418 40% | 13k | $125k (exactly $125,275) | iLLOGIKA |
 | D.O.T. Defence | $14.99 | 196 85% | 5.9k | $88k (exactly $88,141) | Rattleaxe Games | |
 | STARVAULT VR | $24.99 | 66 89% | 2.0k | $49k (exactly $49,480) | Theia Games | |
 | Stellarcraft | $9.99 | 76 88% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $22,777) | DreamStudios, Sandstorm in a Bottle | |
 | One Tower Defense | $10.99 | 46 43% | 1.4k | $15k (exactly $15,166) | Sunburn | |
 | 2089 - Space Divided | $17.99 | 28 75% | 840 | $15k (exactly $15,112) | CoastGames GmbH | |
 | Elemental War Clash | $19.99 | 16 81% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) | Clockwork Origins | |
 | Heroic Aegisio: Origins | $7.99 | 27 77% | 810 | $6.5k (exactly $6,472) | Vview Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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