Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Tower Defense / Shoot 'Em Up
Tower Defense + Shoot 'Em Up: 23 releases in the last 12 months
There is no price yet: it needs 30 or more indie paid launches in the last four complete quarters. 1 of 39 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 1.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 10% on the year before: 23 against 21.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- n/a under 30 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- n/a no price
- Releases, 12 months
- 23 21 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 47 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 159 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. | Below this board's minimum sample, so not ranked. Needs 5 or more wishlist-ranked upcoming games. | |||
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.84xhits against expected | 0.68x to 1.51x | 39 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #3,836 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
- 39
- Hit rate
- 2.6%0.0% to 11.2%
- Expected rate
- 4.5%
- Against expected
- 0.84x0.68x to 1.51x
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
39 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
- $304
- Top tenth
- $22,790
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
- +10%
Parent tags
- Tower DefenseGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Shoot 'Em UpGenre 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.
- Utopia Must Fall (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,281 reviews, 94% positiveest. $233k
- WAR RATS: The Rat em Up (opens the Steam store)2025 · 383 reviews, 95% positiveest. $93k
- Towerful Defense: A Rogue TD (opens the Steam store)2024 · 209 reviews, 69% positiveest. $42k
- They Are Coming (opens the Steam store)2023 · 631 reviews, 90% positiveest. $38k
- Ancient Cultivatrix (opens the Steam store)2025 · 241 reviews, 68% positiveest. $24k
- Kritter: Defend Together (opens the Steam store)2026 · 111 reviews, 85% positiveest. $22k
- Zombie Rollerz: The Last Ship (opens the Steam store)2025 · 140 reviews, 75% positiveest. $16k
- Abyss Horde (opens the Steam store)2026 · 91 reviews, 84% positiveest. $9.2k
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
Related niches
pairs with Shoot 'Em Up- Shoot 'Em Up + Female Protagonist$1,41531 launches priced, 19 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Shoot 'Em Up$1,07266 launches priced, 98 releases in 12 months
- Shoot 'Em Up + Twin Stick Shooter$1,01145 launches priced, 67 releases in 12 months
- Shoot 'Em Up + Action Roguelike$88794 launches priced, 143 releases in 12 months
- Shoot 'Em Up + Score Attack$67730 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
- Shoot 'Em Up + Bullet Hell$646192 launches priced, 289 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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