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Tower Defense on Steam: success rate & trends

Tower Defense is right around the Steam average for Steam developers: 5.2% of releases reach a meaningful audience (below the 6.0% Steam-wide average), across 1,257 games tracked since 2024.

5.2%
Success rate
1,257
Releases tracked
65
Reached an audience
0.9×
vs Steam avg (6.0%)

Tower Defense success rate by year

Steam avg 6.0%6.8%4.7%3.5%*202420252026** 2026 in progress — partial year, still maturing
YearReleasesReached audienceSuccess rate
2024468326.8%
2025471224.7%
2026 · in progress318113.5%

2026 is still in progress — it covers only part of the year, and recent releases haven't had time to reach the review threshold yet, so its release count and success rate both read artificially low. Across complete years (2024–2025) the settled rate is 5.8%.

What the data says

Out of every 100 Tower Defense games released on Steam, roughly 5 break out to a meaningful audience — compared with about 6 in 100 across Steam as a whole. Tower Defense ranks #64 of 466 tags by release volume, and #146 by success rate among well-populated genres, which makes it relatively underserved. Across complete years (2024–2025), Tower Defense's success rate settles at 5.8% — the in-progress 2026 reads lower only because its games are still new.

Unlike "top sellers" lists that only count winners, this is an honest base rate — every tracked Tower Defense release is in the denominator, including the many that never found an audience. That's the number that actually tells you your odds going in.

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Tower Defense on Steam — FAQ

What percentage of Tower Defense games succeed on Steam?
About 5.2% of Tower Defense releases reach a meaningful audience — below the 6.0% Steam-wide average — measured across 1,257 games released between 2024 and 2026.
Is Tower Defense saturated on Steam?
Tower Defense is relatively underserved, with 1,257 releases tracked (rank #64 by volume). High release volume and a below-average success rate mean it's a competitive space.
How many Tower Defense games release on Steam each year?
In 2025 (the last complete year) about 471 Tower Defense games released on Steam; 2026 is still in progress.
Is Tower Defense a good genre to release on Steam?
By the numbers, Tower Defense looks like right around the Steam average — a 5.2% base-rate success vs 6.0% Steam-wide. Pair that with your scope, budget and marketing plan before committing.

Compare other Steam genres