Games › Survival › Survival + Tower Defense
Should I ship a Tower Defense Survival game?
Survival + Tower Defense
Of 280 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Survival game 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.. 360 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $410k, ×661 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 360 games are announced against 165 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $14,834) |
| Top 5% | $415k (exactly $414,992) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 280 |
| Released games | 691 |
| Announced | 360 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 flat on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Survival
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Tower Defense
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Survival, Tower Defense; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Building
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 45,444 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 127 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 360 games are announced against 165 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Survival with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Social DeductionFair
- + Word GameFair
- + CatsFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + DogsFair
- + Martial ArtsLong shot
- + Boomer ShooterLong shot
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
7 Days to Die 2024 · $369M 
Bloons TD 6 2018 · $147M 
They Are Billions 2019 · $42M 
Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition 2009 · $21M 
The Riftbreaker 2021 · $20M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 7 Days to Die | older | $44.99 | 273,589 87% | 8.2M | $369M (exactly $369,263,073) | The Fun Pimps |
| | Bloons TD 6 | older | $13.99 | 349,859 97% | 10M | $147M (exactly $146,835,822) | Ninja Kiwi |
| | They Are Billions | older | $29.99 | 46,223 85% | 1.4M | $42M (exactly $41,586,833) | Numantian Games |
| | Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition | older | $4.99 | 143,506 97% | 4.3M | $21M (exactly $21,482,848) | PopCap Games, Inc. |
| | The Riftbreaker | older | $29.99 | 22,127 90% | 664k | $20M (exactly $19,907,662) | EXOR Studios |
 | Kingdom Two Crowns | older | $19.99 | 31,259 90% | 938k | $19M (exactly $18,746,022) | Fury Studios, Coatsink |
 | Diplomacy is Not an Option | $29.99 | 10,904 85% | 327k | $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) | Door 407 | |
 | Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense | older | $24.99 | 12,607 86% | 378k | $9.5M (exactly $9,451,468) | AutoAttack Games |
 | Night of the Dead | older | $29.99 | 10,380 77% | 311k | $9.3M (exactly $9,338,886) | Jackto Studios |
 | Outpost: Infinity Siege | older | $24.99 | 11,636 65% | 349k | $8.7M (exactly $8,723,509) | Team Ranger |
 | Age of Darkness: Final Stand | $27.99 | 9,486 74% | 285k | $8.0M (exactly $7,965,394) | PlaySide | |
 | The Front | $19.99 | 9,555 66% | 287k | $5.7M (exactly $5,730,134) | Samar Studio | |
 | Becastled | $19.99 | 5,349 81% | 160k | $3.2M (exactly $3,207,795) | Mana Potion Studios | |
 | Dread Dawn | $19.99 | 2,113 71% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,267,166) | Kioop | |
 | EverSiege: Untold Ages | $19.99 | 1,906 68% | 57k | $1.1M (exactly $1,143,028) | Tindalos Interactive | |
 | DarkSwitch | $34.99 | 714 77% | 21k | $749k (exactly $749,486) | Cyber Temple | |
 | Monsters are Coming! | $8.99 | 2,718 79% | 82k | $733k (exactly $733,045) | Ludogram | |
 | The Spotter: Dig or Die | $12.99 | 1,792 84% | 54k | $698k (exactly $698,342) | Puppyroar Games | |
 | Gold Gold Adventure Gold | $24.99 | 907 70% | 27k | $680k (exactly $679,978) | Can Can Can a Man |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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