Do I ship it?

Games › Tower Defense › Tower Defense + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Tower Defense?

Tower Defense + Space

Of 101 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 152 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×200 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 152 games are announced against 69 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 152 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tower Defense + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 101
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $959 → $1.9k → $2.9k → $2.6k → $959 → $1.5k → $716 (still earning) → $341 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tower Defense + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 101
Bottom 30% $270 (exactly $270)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 5% $125k (exactly $125,431)
Developers, 2 yr 101
Released games 251
Announced 152
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.49

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 30% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Tower Defense
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Space
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Tower Defense; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelite, Action
Price point
$6.49 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.49.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 6,365 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $600, 1 in 4 over $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 152 games are announced against 69 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Tower Defense with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + DwarvesStrong odds10 devs · median $6.7k · 9 announced
  2. + MiningFair33 devs · median $6.3k · 45 announced
  3. + Survival HorrorFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 16 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair15 devs · median $1.6k · 20 announced
  5. + TanksFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 13 announced
  6. + MechsFair24 devs · median $1.5k · 24 announced
  7. + IdlerFair108 devs · median $1.2k · 136 announced
  8. + PuzzleFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 67 announced
  9. + Gun CustomizationFair26 devs · median $958 · 32 announced
  10. + LogicFair40 devs · median $955 · 44 announced
  11. + On-Rails ShooterFair11 devs · median $899 · 12 announced
  12. + Psychological HorrorFair8 devs · median $897 · 8 announced

All 150 pairs on the Tower Defense page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dome Keeper 2022 · $10M Creeper World 4 2020 · $3.4M Taur 2020 · $1.5M Drill Core 2025 · $1.3M DG2: Defense Grid 2 2014 · $810k
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
Creeper World 4 older $24.99 4,553 94% 137k $3.4M (exactly $3,413,384) Knuckle Cracker
Taur older $24.99 2,011 79% 60k $1.5M (exactly $1,507,647) Echo Entertainment
Drill Core $19.99 2,130 84% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,277,361) Hungry Couch Games
DG2: Defense Grid 2 older $9.99 2,704 86% 81k $810k (exactly $810,389) Hidden Path Entertainment
Tower Tactics: Liberation older $19.99 1,224 88% 37k $734k (exactly $734,033) asraworks
AI War 2 older $19.99 1,130 87% 34k $678k (exactly $677,661) Arcen Games
Particle Fleet: Emergence older $14.99 1,197 92% 36k $538k (exactly $538,291) Knuckle Cracker
MarZ: Tactical Base Defense older $21.99 808 77% 24k $533k (exactly $533,038) Giant Grey
Creeper World IXE $19.99 855 69% 26k $513k (exactly $512,743) Knuckle Cracker
Calyx · EA $24.99 471 88% 14k $353k (exactly $353,109) Studio 568
IDUN - Frontline Survival $14.99 685 77% 21k $308k (exactly $308,044) IDUN Interactive
Repel The Rifts · EA $12.99 347 85% 10k $135k (exactly $135,226) RefinedBearGames
Void Miner – Incremental Asteroids Roguelite $5.99 698 83% 21k $125k (exactly $125,431) RyanJakob
SHOOPER NOVA $6.99 545 83% 16k $114k (exactly $114,286) Jamesika
Mineral Defense $14.99 220 90% 6.6k $99k (exactly $98,934) Corestone Games
Desperate Place $10.99 253 66% 7.6k $83k (exactly $83,414) BruceGalaxy
ITER-8 $12.99 161 70% 4.8k $63k (exactly $62,742) fluckyMachine

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