Games › Roguelite › Roguelite + Tower Defense
Should I ship a Tower Defense Roguelite?
Roguelite + Tower Defense
Of 372 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Roguelite 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.. 514 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×826 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 514 games are announced against 226 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,323) |
| Top 5% | $392k (exactly $392,144) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 372 |
| Released games | 663 |
| Announced | 514 |
| 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 45% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Roguelite
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Tower Defense
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Roguelite, Tower Defense; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, 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
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 37,378 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 160 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 514 games are announced against 226 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Roguelite with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-TimeFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + TypingFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + DogsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + DwarvesPoor odds
Comparable games
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 
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap 2025 · $3.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 | |
| | Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap | $29.99 | 4,053 69% | 122k | $3.6M (exactly $3,646,484) | Robot Entertainment | |
 | Dungeon of the ENDLESS™ | older | $11.99 | 9,419 87% | 283k | $3.4M (exactly $3,388,014) | AMPLITUDE Studios |
 | 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 |
 | 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 | |
 | 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 | |
 | EverSiege: Untold Ages | $19.99 | 1,906 68% | 57k | $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) | Tindalos Interactive | |
 | Border Pioneer | $14.99 | 1,675 86% | 50k | $753k (exactly $753,248) | Yahzj Games | |
 | Monsters are Coming! | $8.99 | 2,718 79% | 82k | $733k (exactly $733,045) | Ludogram |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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