Do I ship it?

GamesReal-Time with PauseReal-Time with Pause + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense Real-Time with Pause game?

Real-Time with Pause + Tower Defense

Only 7 developers shipped a Tower Defense Real-Time with Pause game 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, Diplomacy is Not an Option, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $73k against a market of $1.5k. 12 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 48.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 12 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Real-Time with Pause + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 7
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $47k → $36k → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Real-Time with Pause + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 7
Bottom 30% $36k (exactly $35,600)
Median $73k (exactly $73,163)
Top 25% $215k (exactly $214,693)
Top 5% $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329)
Developers, 2 yr 7
Released games 36
Announced 12
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $12.99

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 10% on the market, supply 35% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Real-Time with Pause
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Real-Time with Pause, Tower Defense
Price point
$12.99 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 $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 77,375 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $36k, median $73k, 1 in 4 over $210k, 1 in 20 over $9.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $36k. 12 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Real-Time with Pause with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + CombatStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + ActionFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  3. + Open WorldPoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  4. + AdventurePoor odds10 devs · median $561k · 7 announced
  5. + City BuilderPoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 25 announced
  6. + ExplorationPoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 24 announced
  7. + Choices MatterPoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  8. + HistoricalPoor odds14 devs · median $124k · 19 announced
  9. + MilitaryPoor odds11 devs · median $124k · 33 announced
  10. + MedievalPoor odds10 devs · median $87k · 22 announced
  11. + Base BuildingPoor odds20 devs · median $73k · 35 announced
  12. + SurvivalPoor odds20 devs · median $73k · 27 announced

All 41 pairs on the Real-Time with Pause page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
They Are Billions older $29.99 46,223 85% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,586,833) Numantian Games
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal older $14.99 4,098 96% 123k $1.8M (exactly $1,842,871) Knuckle Cracker
Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten (DX edition) older $14.99 2,722 94% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,224,083) Level Up Labs, LLC
Infested Planet older $14.99 2,468 94% 74k $1.1M (exactly $1,109,860) Rocket Bear Games
Rusted Warfare - RTS older $4.99 6,619 96% 199k $991k (exactly $990,864) Corroding Games
From Glory To Goo · EA older $11.99 1,794 96% 54k $645k (exactly $645,302) Stratagem Blue
Particle Fleet: Emergence older $14.99 1,197 92% 36k $538k (exactly $538,291) Knuckle Cracker
AI War: Fleet Command older $9.99 992 85% 30k $297k (exactly $297,302) Arcen Games
Here Comes The Swarm · EA $19.99 358 84% 11k $215k (exactly $214,693) CableHook Games
Rift Riff $12.99 367 94% 11k $143k (exactly $143,020) Adriaan de Jongh, Sim Kaart, Matthijs K… (Adriaan de Jongh, Sim Kaart, Matthijs Koster, Franz LaZerte, Professional Panda)
Repterra $19.99 122 90% 3.7k $73k (exactly $73,163) Chute Apps
Deep Among the Swarm $8.99 132 85% 4.0k $36k (exactly $35,600) Pebble Mountain Games
Buttons Up! 2 $3.99 13 76% 390 $1.6k (exactly $1,556) Jestercraft
Void Salvage $6.99 7 71% 210 $1.5k (exactly $1,468) myradann

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