Do I ship it?

Games › Tower Defense › Tower Defense + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Tower Defense?

Tower Defense + Zombies

Of 85 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 125 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×698 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 125 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 125 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Tower Defense + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 85
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $148 → $600 → $719 → $2.6k → $4.8k → $1.4k → $1.8k (still earning) → $598 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Tower Defense + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 85
Bottom 30% $538 (exactly $538)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,791)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,026)
Top 5% $439k (exactly $438,542)
Developers, 2 yr 85
Released games 261
Announced 125
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 20% on the market, supply 30% more developers than 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.

Tower Defense
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Zombies
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, Base Building, Action
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.88 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.88 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 24,839 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $430k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 125 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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

7 Days to Die 2024 · $369M They Are Billions 2019 · $42M Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition 2009 · $21M Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ 2020 · $14M Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M
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
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.
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ older $29.99 15,372 71% 461k $14M (exactly $13,830,188) PopCap
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Night of the Dead older $29.99 10,380 77% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,338,886) Jackto Studios
Plants vs. Zombies™: Replanted $19.99 6,898 66% 207k $4.1M (exactly $4,136,731) PopCap Games, The Lost Pixels
METAL GEAR SURVIVE older $29.99 3,687 64% 111k $3.3M (exactly $3,317,194) KONAMI
Dread Dawn $19.99 2,113 71% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,166) Kioop
Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten (DX edition) older $14.99 2,722 94% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,224,083) Level Up Labs, LLC
The Spotter: Dig or Die $12.99 1,792 84% 54k $698k (exactly $698,342) Puppyroar Games
Human Host · EA $16.88 866 83% 26k $439k (exactly $438,542) Virtual Matrix Studio
Survival Machine $19.99 692 69% 21k $415k (exactly $414,992) Grape Pickers
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
7 Days Blood Moons · EA $9.99 418 40% 13k $125k (exactly $125,275) iLLOGIKA
Keep Her Safe · EA $9.99 382 97% 11k $114k (exactly $114,485) Gugu Studio
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室

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