Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Tactics › Turn-Based Tactics + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense Turn-Based Tactics?

Turn-Based Tactics + Tower Defense

Of 79 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Turn-Based Tactics 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.. 96 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×584 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 96 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 96 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Tactics + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 79
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.1k → $1.6k → $1.9k → $1.5k → $4.2k → $4.2k → $1.8k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Tactics + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 79
Bottom 30% $270 (exactly $270)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $8.4k (exactly $8,390)
Top 5% $367k (exactly $366,708)
Developers, 2 yr 79
Released games 190
Announced 96
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 80% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Turn-Based Tactics
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
Turn-Based Tactics, Tower Defense; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Roguelike
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 6,208 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $8.3k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Tactics with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + TanksFair24 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  2. + AutomationFair28 devs · median $2.9k · 36 announced
  3. + ProgrammingFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 16 announced
  4. + DiceFair47 devs · median $1.6k · 53 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 8 announced
  6. + Time ManagementFair65 devs · median $1.4k · 69 announced
  7. + IdlerFair47 devs · median $1.3k · 48 announced
  8. + Psychological HorrorFair55 devs · median $1.0k · 56 announced
  9. + Traditional RoguelikeFair78 devs · median $629 · 95 announced
  10. + PsychologicalFair34 devs · median $629 · 40 announced
  11. + PuzzleFair263 devs · median $598 · 308 announced
  12. + PlatformerLong shot15 devs · median $360 · 18 announced

All 189 pairs on the Turn-Based Tactics page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Last Spell 2023 · $9.9M Artisan TD 2024 · $1.1M Deck of Haunts 2025 · $723k Knightica 2025 · $511k Titanium Court 2026 · $492k
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
Artisan TD older $16.99 2,237 88% 67k $1.1M (exactly $1,140,199) 4rtisans
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
Knightica $14.99 1,136 74% 34k $511k (exactly $510,859) Mad Mango Games
Titanium Court $14.99 1,094 94% 33k $492k (exactly $491,972) AP Thomson
Cubic Cosmos $12.99 941 92% 28k $367k (exactly $366,708) Inkstone Atelier
变量 Variables older $10.99 954 86% 29k $315k (exactly $314,534) Asteroid Game Studio
Beach Invasion 1944 older $9.99 1,038 84% 31k $311k (exactly $311,089) AIx2 Games
Guardians of Eden-Embrace of the Forest older $10.99 671 90% 20k $221k (exactly $221,229) Black Cat Entertainment
Tiny Tactics older $9.99 661 82% 20k $198k (exactly $198,102) Tiny Forge Gaming
Hold The Mine · EA $14.99 338 83% 10k $152k (exactly $151,999) Hookaria Games
Kingdom's Deck $9.99 495 72% 15k $148k (exactly $148,352) Ivan Aco
Hive Blight · EA $12.49 367 94% 11k $138k (exactly $137,515) OptizOnion
Repel The Rifts · EA $12.99 347 85% 10k $135k (exactly $135,226) RefinedBearGames
These Doomed Isles $14.99 180 66% 5.4k $81k (exactly $80,946) Triplevision Games Limited
Rogue Realm: Guardian Grids $12.99 104 72% 3.1k $41k (exactly $40,529) YogurtGames

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