Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Tower Defense / Auto Battler
Tower Defense + Auto Battler: a typical launch earns $283 in its first year
That is the median of 32 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 4 of 77 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 3.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 139% on the year before: 86 against 36.
- Price
- $283 median of 32 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- −75.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 86 36 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 167 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 376 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. | 0.16%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.07% to 0.23% | 11 ranked of 167 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #1,275 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.09xhits against expected | 0.75x to 1.79x | 77 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #2,284 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 20 or more releases in each 12-month period. | |||
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 15 or more tracked games and 1,000 reviews in each window. | |||
Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.
Launch success
launches 6 to 30 months oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 77
- Hit rate
- 5.2%2.6% to 17.4%
- Expected rate
- 4.5%
- Against expected
- 1.09x0.75x to 1.79x
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
77 launchesEstimated 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
- $727
- Top tenth
- $63,988
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +139%
Parent tags
- Tower DefenseGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Auto BattlerGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe 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.
- Knightica (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,137 reviews, 74% positiveest. $345k
- Titanium Court (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,123 reviews, 94% positiveest. $341k
- There Are No Orcs (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,195 reviews, 93% positiveest. $218k
- Desktop Defender (opens the Steam store)2025 · 1,767 reviews, 92% positiveest. $179k
- Hold The Mine (opens the Steam store)2026 · 348 reviews, 83% positiveest. $106k
- Poly TD (opens the Steam store)2026 · 595 reviews, 82% positiveest. $96k
- Hive Blight (opens the Steam store)2026 · 374 reviews, 94% positiveest. $95k
- Wireworks (opens the Steam store)2026 · 626 reviews, 89% positiveest. $89k
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
More with Auto Battler
pairs with Auto Battler- Deckbuilding + Auto Battler$8,45742 launches priced, 66 releases in 12 months
- Card Battler + Auto Battler$3,75930 launches priced, 90 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Auto Battler$3,39375 launches priced, 156 releases in 12 months
- Card Game + Auto Battler$2,67141 launches priced, 78 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Auto Battler$1,81961 launches priced, 156 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Auto Battler$1,51640 launches priced, 148 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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