Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Tower Defense

Of 70 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 54 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $180. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 54 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 54 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 70
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $748 → $599 → $748 → $809 → $599 → $479 (still earning) → $807 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 70
Bottom 30% $178 (exactly $178)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $6.5k (exactly $6,534)
Top 5% $114k (exactly $114,286)
Developers, 2 yr 70
Released games 197
Announced 54
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 up 30% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Shoot 'Em Up
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
Shoot 'Em Up, Tower Defense; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelite, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 2,813 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $600, 1 in 4 over $6.5k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shoot 'Em Up with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FaithFair13 devs · median $17k · 13 announced
  2. + RomanceFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  4. + Quick-Time EventsFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair39 devs · median $628 · 36 announced
  6. + IdlerFair36 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  7. + Resource ManagementFair26 devs · median $599 · 34 announced
  8. + ArcadeFair749 devs · median $419 · 783 announced
  9. + SwordplayLong shot13 devs · median $300 · 5 announced
  10. + MusicPoor odds12 devs · median $9.0k · 12 announced
  11. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $8.1k · 20 announced
  12. + Visual NovelPoor odds11 devs · median $5.8k · 12 announced

All 169 pairs on the Shoot 'Em Up page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Glory & Miserable Survivors DX 2023 · $446k Octogeddon 2018 · $346k Utopia Must Fall 2024 · EA · $339k Castle Of Alchemists 2025 · $278k IS Defense 2016 · $263k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Glory & Miserable Survivors DX older $9.99 1,488 88% 45k $446k (exactly $445,954) TLACHTLI
Octogeddon older $8.88 1,298 92% 39k $346k (exactly $345,787) All Yes Good
Utopia Must Fall · EA older $8.99 1,258 95% 38k $339k (exactly $339,283) Pixeljam
Castle Of Alchemists $14.99 618 80% 19k $278k (exactly $277,915) Team Machiavelli
IS Defense older $5.99 1,465 91% 44k $263k (exactly $263,260) Destructive Creations
Let Them Come older $7.99 1,084 84% 33k $260k (exactly $259,835) Tuatara Games
Paper Planet older $14.99 381 89% 11k $171k (exactly $171,336) Doodlegames
WAR RATS: The Rat em Up $11.99 382 95% 11k $137k (exactly $137,405) wootusart Industries
Swarm Bunker: Lust Defense $9.99 386 88% 12k $116k (exactly $115,684) 001Studio-NSFW
SHOOPER NOVA $6.99 545 83% 16k $114k (exactly $114,286) Jamesika
Ancient Cultivatrix $8.99 240 67% 7.2k $65k (exactly $64,728) 五条虾仁(5 shrimps)
Zombie Rollerz: The Last Ship $9.99 139 75% 4.2k $42k (exactly $41,658) Zing Games Inc., 紫英互娱
Kritter: Defend Together $9.99 109 86% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,667) LJF Games
Psionic Awake $4.99 184 63% 5.5k $28k (exactly $27,545) Mighty Cat
Bees vs Zombees $7.99 89 92% 2.7k $21k (exactly $21,333) DeadPixel
Blitzkrieg Express $4.99 121 74% 3.6k $18k (exactly $18,114) Maksym Melnyk

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