Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense Roguelike?

Roguelike + Tower Defense

Of 336 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Roguelike 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.. 438 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×798 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 438 games are announced against 213 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 438 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 336
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.4k → $2.2k → $1.3k → $3.3k → $3.1k → $1.8k → $1.2k (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 336
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,468)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,103)
Top 5% $379k (exactly $379,155)
Developers, 2 yr 336
Released games 617
Announced 438
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 50% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Roguelike, Tower Defense; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelite, Base Building
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 32,192 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 137 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 438 games are announced against 213 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.9k · 17 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair60 devs · median $1.8k · 85 announced
  7. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  8. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  10. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  12. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dome Keeper 2022 · $10M The Last Spell 2023 · $9.9M Bad North: Jotunn Edition 2018 · $5.6M Kingdom: New Lands 2016 · $4.6M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dome Keeper older $17.99 18,976 92% 569k $10M (exactly $10,241,347) Bippinbits
The Last Spell older $24.99 13,260 91% 398k $9.9M (exactly $9,941,022) Ishtar Games
Bad North: Jotunn Edition older $14.99 12,344 93% 370k $5.6M (exactly $5,551,097) Plausible Concept, Oskar Stålberg
Kingdom: New Lands older $14.99 10,152 86% 305k $4.6M (exactly $4,565,354) Noio
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Dungeon of the ENDLESS™ older $11.99 9,419 87% 283k $3.4M (exactly $3,388,014) AMPLITUDE Studios
Rise to Ruins older $14.99 7,234 87% 217k $3.3M (exactly $3,253,130) Raymond Doerr
Ratropolis older $17.99 5,187 87% 156k $2.8M (exactly $2,799,424) Cassel Games
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
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
Drill Core $19.99 2,130 84% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,277,361) Hungry Couch Games
Sir, We Have an Orc Problem $9.99 4,123 86% 124k $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) Mumpitz Games
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
ShapeHero Factory $23.99 991 88% 30k $713k (exactly $713,223) Asobism.Co.,Ltd
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

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