Do I ship it?

Games › Strategy RPG › Strategy RPG + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense Strategy RPG?

Strategy RPG + Tower Defense

Of 64 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Strategy RPG 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.. 99 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $780, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×231 the market median. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 99 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 65% on the market, 99 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy RPG + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 64
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $299 → $360 → $1.8k → $839 → $1.1k → $180 → $2.1k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy RPG + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 64
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $779 (exactly $779)
Top 25% $5.8k (exactly $5,750)
Top 5% $145k (exactly $145,127)
Developers, 2 yr 64
Released games 154
Announced 99
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 65% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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.

Strategy RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy RPG, Tower Defense; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Roguelite
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 4,889 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 $780, 1 in 4 over $5.7k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 99 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SportsFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  2. + SwordplayFair22 devs · median $2.7k · 28 announced
  3. + Bullet HellFair40 devs · median $2.0k · 31 announced
  4. + EconomyFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced
  5. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  6. + ConspiracyFair19 devs · median $1.2k · 21 announced
  7. + Shop KeeperFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  8. + 2D PlatformerFair108 devs · median $479 · 113 announced
  9. + Point & ClickFair43 devs · median $450 · 47 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds58 devs · median $63k · 76 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds30 devs · median $35k · 41 announced
  12. + 4XPoor odds15 devs · median $31k · 33 announced

All 158 pairs on the Strategy RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M The Last Spell 2023 · $9.9M Dungeon Defenders 2011 · $5.5M Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim 2025 · $2.2M Affogato 2023 · $497k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Riftbreaker older $29.99 22,127 90% 664k $20M (exactly $19,907,662) EXOR Studios
The Last Spell older $24.99 13,260 91% 398k $9.9M (exactly $9,941,022) Ishtar Games
Dungeon Defenders older $14.99 12,148 93% 364k $5.5M (exactly $5,462,956) Chromatic Games
Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim $24.90 2,938 77% 88k $2.2M (exactly $2,194,686) Rockbee Team
Affogato older $16.99 975 82% 29k $497k (exactly $496,957) Befun Studio
Crown of Greed $19.99 680 60% 20k $408k (exactly $407,796) BLUM Entertainment
Machine Mind $19.99 567 71% 17k $340k (exactly $340,030) Chudo-Yudo Games
miniBONG older $9.99 881 79% 26k $264k (exactly $264,036) Game Star
Dwerve older $19.99 426 70% 13k $255k (exactly $255,472) Half Human Games
Legendary Hoplite older $14.99 335 63% 10k $151k (exactly $150,650) TripleBricksGames
Defender's Quest 2: Mists of Ruin $19.99 242 61% 7.3k $145k (exactly $145,127) Level Up Labs, LLC
Chrysalis $9.99 118 84% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,365) Metamorph Games
WARSHIFT 2 $19.99 54 70% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Cyril Megem
Elemental Master: Heroes Assemble $9.99 68 50% 2.0k $20k (exactly $20,380) DeepDream Studio
The Dream Labyrinth $14.99 44 81% 1.3k $20k (exactly $19,787) GGG`s
Bonelords $6.99 94 92% 2.8k $20k (exactly $19,712) Z0 Game Studios
Dark Bone Prison $5.99 84 95% 2.5k $15k (exactly $15,095) Bunny Moon Shady

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