Today I will be looking at the Target Audience for my game EarthshipTD. I will first look at examples of other games to see what their Target Demographics are, and what my game’s Target Demographic would be like.
Tower Defense Market Analysis
The mobile Tower Defense market is expected to grow to $2.3 billion by 2030. According to Astute Analytica (2022), the 18-35 age demographic is the most dominment compared to other age groups.
Free-to-play titles represent most of the games in the genre, however, “In tower defense games, around 17% of all games are paid. This is much higher than the average percentage of apps purchased on Google Play” (Astute Analytica 2022).
69% of players in the genre are playing on the Android operating system compared to iOS, which is because of the Android market containing a variety of device sizes and price points as well as having more storage (Rees, L. 2022). As (Rees, L. 2022) states, the genre is significantly popular on mobile devices due to their simple gameplay, strategy and replay value.
Rees, L. (2022) States that “Worldwide, more than 170 million people play tower defence games, with an average lifetime spend of $8.”, meanwhile the report states that the average price varies between $0.6 to $7. Currently, as of writing, Bloons TD 6 costs £6.99 on the Google Play Store while its predecesor costs £2.59.
Bloons TD 6
Bloons TD 6 has a wide audience reach, which is complimented by cartoonish graphics and easy to learn but hard to master gameplay, “It’s fun and friendly, so it’s accessible, but under the surface it’s quite complicated.” (Harrowell, C. 2018), (Irwin, D. 2026). Bloons TD 6 first launched on the mobile platforms Android and iOS before gradually expanding to desktop platforms and consoles, as such it is widely available and with the exception of the Nintendo Switch, is playable on both 9th generation consoles through backwards compatibility, as well as mobile devices and desktop platforms, giving the player a wide variety of choices on what the play the game on.
Plants vs Zombies
Like Bloons TD 6, Plants vs Zombies has also been described as a game that has “appealing” and “charming” visuals but with deep gameplay that has been described as “simple, addictive” by Wired (Cavalli, E. 2009), Cavalli, E. (2009). Plants vs Zombies can be found on a variety of platforms, PC via Steam, Android and iOS for mobile. Plants vs Zombies recently received a remastered version called Plants vs Zombies Replanted that was released on newer platforms like the Nintendo Switch 2 featuring mouse controls on that platform which has also been described as “infectiously charming” (Ransbottom, N. 2025).
EarthshipTD Target Audience
I am aiming to launch EarthshipTD mainly on the mobile market, so the iOS and Android markets. As I will be targeting the mobile market mainly, I will be aiming for a casual experience where the player will generally spend a short amount of time a session, which the mobile market is suitable for (Extra Credits 2015). I am aiming for the 18-35 age demographic. As the report I looked at earlier states, it represents the dominant age category. The game will be a free-to-play title.
References
Harrowell, C. (2018). Stuff. [online] Stuff.co.nz. Available at: https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/104765530/kiwidesigned-online-game-bloons-td6-tops-the-worldwide-paid-app-charts [Accessed 5 Jan. 2026].
Irwin, D. (2026). The 15 best tower defense games on PC in 2025. [online] PCGamesN. Available at: https://www.pcgamesn.com/best-tower-defense-games-pc.
Cavalli, E. (2009). Review: Masterful Plants vs. Zombies Proves Less Is More. [online] Wired. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20090905150515/http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/05/plants-vs-zombies [Accessed 5 Jan. 2026].
Arendt, S. (2009). Review: Plants vs. Zombies. [online] The Escapist. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20201128030207/https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/editorials/reviews/6035-Review-Plants-vs-Zombies [Accessed 5 Jan. 2026].
Ransbottom, N. (2025). Review: Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted (Switch 2) – An Imperfect Specimen, But Still Bloomin’ Good. [online] Nintendo Life. Available at: https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch-2/plants-vs-zombies-replanted [Accessed 5 Jan. 2026].
Rees, L. (2022). Tower Defence games to reach $2.3 billion in revenue by 2030. [online] Pocketgamer.biz. Available at: https://www.pocketgamer.biz/tower-defence-games-to-reach-23-billion-in-revenue-by-2030/.
Astute Analytica (2022). Mobile Tower Defense Games Market Report | 2030. [online] www.astuteanalytica.com. Available at: https://www.astuteanalytica.com/industry-report/mobile-tower-defense-games-market.
Extra Credits (2015). Understanding Your Player: Play Sessions – How Will People Play Your Game? – Extra Credits . [online] Youtu.be. Available at: https://youtu.be/PeTjr4q_grE?si=_OJeYg8ehEIimkYy [Accessed 5 Jan. 2026].