Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Tower Defense / Roguelite
Tower Defense + Roguelite: a typical launch earns $1,516 in its first year
That is the median of 109 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 17 of 223 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 12.8 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 63% on the year before: 196 against 120.
- Price
- $1,516 median of 109 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +17.3% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 196 120 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 423 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 945 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. | 0.29%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.15% to 0.40% | 25 ranked of 423 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #798 of 7,193pairs on this board |
| Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. | 1.27xhits against expected | 0.92x to 1.76x | 223 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #1,469 of 6,324pairs on this board |
| Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. | −29%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −45% to −18% | 32 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #2,156 of 2,361pairs on this board |
| Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. | −16%review growth against same-age games | −26% to −3% | 32 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #1,496 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
- 223
- Hit rate
- 7.7%5.7% to 13.4%
- Expected rate
- 5.7%
- Against expected
- 1.27x0.92x to 1.76x
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
222 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
- $1,727
- Top tenth
- $66,232
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
- +63%
- Against Steam
- +19%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Tower DefenseGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- RogueliteGenre 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.
- The King is Watching (opens the Steam store)2025 · 9,137 reviews, 88% positiveest. $2.4M
- Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap (opens the Steam store)2025 · 4,062 reviews, 69% positiveest. $2.3M
- 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
- ENDLESS Dungeon™ - Definitive Edition (opens the Steam store)2023 · 2,955 reviews, 64% positiveest. $897k
- Sir, We Have an Orc Problem (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,400 reviews, 86% positiveest. $890k
- Drill Core (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,136 reviews, 84% positiveest. $795k
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 + 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 Roguelite
pairs with Roguelite- Roguelite + Bullet Heaven$12,77652 launches priced, 181 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Roguelike Deckbuilder$9,65574 launches priced, 161 releases in 12 months
- FPS + Roguelite$5,46236 launches priced, 47 releases in 12 months
- Co-op + Roguelite$4,52138 launches priced, 51 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Female Protagonist$4,27345 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
- Roguelite + Anime$4,27333 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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