Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Tower Defense / Base Building
Tower Defense + Base Building: a typical launch earns $2,003 in its first year
That is the median of 81 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 25 of 160 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 11.4 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 43% on the year before: 129 against 90.
- Price
- $2,003 median of 81 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +243.4% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 129 90 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 389 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 835 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.
| 1.11%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.22% to 2.80% | 41 ranked of 391 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #4,249 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.94xhits against expected | 1.48x to 2.52x | 160 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #195 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −18%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −33% to −5% | 28 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,947 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −15%review growth against same-age games | −25% to −4% | 28 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,479 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 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
- 160
- Hit rate
- 15.6%11.6% to 22.1%
- Expected rate
- 7.2%
- Against expected
- 1.94x1.48x to 2.52x
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
160 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
- $61
- Median
- $939
- Top tenth
- $218,947
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
- +43%
- Against Steam
- +3%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Tower DefenseGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Base BuildingNot a genreA theme, mood, feature or presentation tag: never ranked as a market on its own, only inside 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.
Outpost: Infinity Siege (opens the Steam store)2024 · 11,647 reviews, 65% positiveest. $4.2M
The Front (opens the Steam store)2023 · 9,544 reviews, 66% positiveest. $3.5M
The King is Watching (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,137 reviews, 88% positiveest. $2.4M
Tower Dominion (opens the Steam store)2025 · 5,154 reviews, 85% positiveest. $1.7M
Emberward (opens the Steam store)2024 · 4,204 reviews, 96% positiveest. $1.6M
Nordhold (opens the Steam store)2025 · 2,884 reviews, 87% positiveest. $1.2M
Sir, We Have an Orc Problem (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,400 reviews, 86% positiveest. $890k
Kingdom Rush 6: Genesis TD (opens the Steam store)2026 · 2,912 reviews, 65% positiveest. $822k
More with Tower Defense
pairs with Tower Defense- Tower Defense + City Builder$8,80032 launches priced, 43 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
- Tower Defense + Bullet Hell$1,13337 launches priced, 75 releases in 12 months
More with Base Building
pairs with Base Building- Base Building + Colony Sim$22,86553 launches priced, 64 releases in 12 months
- RPG + Base Building$17,28632 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
- Base Building + Automation$14,08239 launches priced, 83 releases in 12 months
- RTS + Base Building$13,91454 launches priced, 61 releases in 12 months
- Base Building + Management$12,38472 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
- City Builder + Base Building$11,53773 launches priced, 109 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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