Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Strategy + Tower Defense: a typical launch earns $414 in its first year

That is the median of 318 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 43 of 694 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 34.7 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 59% on the year before: 569 against 358.

Price: $414
Price vs a year earlier: −8.9%
Releases, 12 months: 569
Upcoming games: 1,405
Games on the store: 3,720

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

Strategy + Tower Defense on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	1.66%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.74% to 3.25%	72 ranked of 1,407 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#4,100 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.22xhits against expected	0.97x to 1.53x	694 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#1,670 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−28%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−40% to −18%	76 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#2,140 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−17%review growth against same-age games	−29% to −7%	76 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,499 of 2,461pairs on this board

Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.

Launch success

launches 6 to 30 months old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 43
Expected: 34.7

Launches: 694
Hit rate: 6.2%5.9% to 9.8%
Expected rate: 5.0%
Against expected: 1.22x0.97x to 1.53x

Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.

Revenue spread

693 launches

Estimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.

Bottom tenth: $0
Median: $443
Top tenth: $35,066

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 569
Prior 12 months: 358

Change: +59%
Against Steam: +17%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

StrategyGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Tower DefenseGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.

More with Strategy

pairs with Strategy

Strategy + Roguelike Deckbuilder$8,599104 launches priced, 217 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Base Building$6,139160 launches priced, 260 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Turn-Based$5,85566 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Historical$4,25980 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Party-Based RPG$3,88255 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Story Rich$3,64284 launches priced, 149 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Strategy

More with Tower Defense

pairs with Tower Defense

Tower Defense + City Builder$8,80032 launches priced, 43 releases in 12 months
Tower Defense + Base Building$2,00381 launches priced, 129 releases in 12 months
Tower Defense + Survival$1,61947 launches priced, 68 releases in 12 months
Tower Defense + Roguelite$1,516109 launches priced, 196 releases in 12 months
Tower Defense + Roguelike$1,17390 launches priced, 163 releases in 12 months
Tower Defense + Resource Management$1,13335 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Tower Defense

Verdicts

in development

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