Do I ship it?

Games › Wargame › Wargame + Tower Defense

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tower Defense Wargame?

Wargame + Tower Defense

Of 104 developers who shipped a Tower Defense Wargame 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.. 160 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 $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $89; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×236 the market median. Revenue is up 545% on the market; 160 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 545% on the market, 160 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Wargame + Tower Defense
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 104
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $891 → $719 → $359 → $419 → $657 → $1.9k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Wargame + Tower Defense: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 104
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $8.4k (exactly $8,396)
Top 5% $148k (exactly $148,352)
Developers, 2 yr 104
Released games 284
Announced 160
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 545% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Wargame
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
Wargame, Tower Defense; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RTS, Action
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 6,393 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $480, 1 in 4 over $8.3k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 63 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 160 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Inventory ManagementFair21 devs · median $4.6k · 20 announced
  2. + Local MultiplayerFair28 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  3. + NavalFair37 devs · median $2.4k · 37 announced
  4. + TabletopFair50 devs · median $1.1k · 57 announced
  5. + LogicFair20 devs · median $599 · 26 announced
  6. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds11 devs · median $37k · 24 announced
  7. + Real-TimePoor odds13 devs · median $37k · 17 announced
  8. + Co-opPoor odds43 devs · median $21k · 84 announced
  9. + StealthPoor odds10 devs · median $21k · 39 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds34 devs · median $17k · 59 announced
  11. + Colony SimPoor odds24 devs · median $16k · 55 announced
  12. + SandboxPoor odds82 devs · median $14k · 142 announced

All 147 pairs on the Wargame page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Starship Troopers: Terran Command 2022 · $8.3M Bad North: Jotunn Edition 2018 · $5.6M Creeper World 4 2020 · $3.4M Warpips 2022 · $2.2M Border Pioneer 2025 · $753k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Starship Troopers: Terran Command older $29.99 9,214 87% 276k $8.3M (exactly $8,289,836) The Artistocrats
Bad North: Jotunn Edition older $14.99 12,344 93% 370k $5.6M (exactly $5,551,097) Plausible Concept, Oskar Stålberg
Creeper World 4 older $24.99 4,553 94% 137k $3.4M (exactly $3,413,384) Knuckle Cracker
Warpips older $16.99 4,339 87% 130k $2.2M (exactly $2,211,588) Skirmish Mode Games
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games
Creeper World IXE $19.99 855 69% 26k $513k (exactly $512,743) Knuckle Cracker
Stickman Trenches older $5.99 1,922 81% 58k $345k (exactly $345,383) Big Play Games
Home Wars older $9.99 1,141 78% 34k $342k (exactly $341,958) Insane Dreamers
There Are No Orcs $8.99 1,188 93% 36k $320k (exactly $320,404) BaseTrade Studio
IDUN - Frontline Survival $14.99 685 77% 21k $308k (exactly $308,044) IDUN Interactive
Castle Craft $19.99 480 82% 14k $288k (exactly $287,856) Twin Earth
Kingdom's Deck $9.99 495 72% 15k $148k (exactly $148,352) Ivan Aco
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室
Yokai Art 2: Tales of the Nine-Tails $9.99 314 75% 9.4k $94k (exactly $94,106) Secret Labo
D.O.T. Defence $14.99 196 85% 5.9k $88k (exactly $88,141) Rattleaxe Games
MORSE $13.99 124 93% 3.7k $52k (exactly $52,043) ALJO Games

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