Best Tower Defense Games on Steam

Steam currently has 2,420 Tower Defense games available to download and play. Explore our list of the best picks ranked by Player Score. Our Player Score rankings are calculated directly from reviews left on the Steam store and will be updated in real-time as more players leave their feedback. Tower Defense game rankings were last updated on 12/12/2024.

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1. Bloons TD 6

The Bloons are back and better than ever! Get ready for a massive 3D tower defense game designed to give you hours and hours of the best strategy gaming available.

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Bloons TD 6 holds the #1 spot for "best Tower Defense game on Steam" with a Player Score of 96. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 338,179 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 329,098 positive reviews and 9,081 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $4.19 to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Bloons TD 6 on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $4.19
Release Date 12/18/2018
Franchise Ninja Kiwi Games
Developer Ninja Kiwi
Publisher Ninja Kiwi
Steam App Id 960090

2. Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition

Zombies are invading your home, and the only defense is your arsenal of plants! Armed with an alien nursery-worth of zombie-zapping plants like peashooters and cherry bombs, you'll need to think fast and plant faster to stop dozens of types of zombies dead in their tracks.

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Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition has achieved a Player Score of 96, placing it in the #2 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 134,510 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 131,252 positive reviews and 3,258 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $4.99 to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $4.99
Release Date 5/5/2009
Franchise PopCap EA
Developer PopCap Games, Inc.
Publishers
Steam App Id 3590

3. Stronghold Crusader HD

The highly anticipated sequel to the best-selling Stronghold, Stronghold Crusader HD throws you into historic battles and castle sieges from the Crusades with fiendish AI opponents, new units, 4 historical campaigns and over 100 unique skirmish missions.

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Stronghold Crusader HD has achieved a Player Score of 95, placing it in the #3 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 18,726 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 18,279 positive reviews and 447 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $2.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Stronghold Crusader HD on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $2.99
Release Date 10/21/2013
Franchise Firefly Studios
Developer FireFly Studios
Publisher FireFly Studios
Steam App Id 40970

4. Kingdom Rush - Tower Defense

Get ready for an epic journey to defend your kingdom against hordes of orcs, trolls, evil wizards and other nasty fiends using a vast arsenal of towers and spells at your command!Fight on forests, mountains and wastelands, customizing your defensive strategy with different tower upgrades and specializations!

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Kingdom Rush - Tower Defense has achieved a Player Score of 95, placing it in the #4 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 14,081 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 13,698 positive reviews and 383 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $9.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Kingdom Rush - Tower Defense on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $9.99
Release Date 1/6/2014
Franchise Ironhide Game Studio
Developer Ironhide Game Studio
Publisher Ironhide Game Studio
Steam App Id 246420

5. Thronefall

A minimalist game about building and defending your little kingdom.

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Thronefall has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #5 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 18,615 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 18,031 positive reviews and 584 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $12.99 to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.

Steam Price $12.99
Release Date 10/11/2024
Developer GrizzlyGames
Publisher GrizzlyGames
Steam App Id 2239150

6. Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Tower Defense

Command your troops through an epic (mis)adventure as you defend exotic lands from dragons, man-eating plants, and ghastly denizens of the underworld -all with flashy new towers, levels, heroes, and more goodies to help you crush your foes in this Fantasy Action Tower Defense game!

Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Tower Defense banner

Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Tower Defense has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #6 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 8,919 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 8,637 positive reviews and 282 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $9.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Tower Defense on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $9.99
Release Date 7/25/2016
Franchise Ironhide Game Studio
Developer Ironhide Game Studio
Publisher Ironhide Game Studio
Steam App Id 458710

7. Mindustry

An open-ended factory management game with RTS and tower defense elements.

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Mindustry has achieved a Player Score of 93, placing it in the #7 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 20,559 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 19,694 positive reviews and 865 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $9.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Mindustry on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $9.99
Release Date 9/26/2019
Developer AnukenDev
Publisher AnukenDev
Steam App Id 1127400

8. Rusted Warfare - RTS

{{An RTS inspired by the classics of the past!}} Making up for it's subpar retro graphics with fun gameplay and modern multi-threaded tech enabling huge battles to run smooth... Featuring singleplayer challenges, skirmish, sandbox, 10-player multiplayer & workshop modding.

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Rusted Warfare - RTS has achieved a Player Score of 93, placing it in the #8 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 5,529 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 5,348 positive reviews and 181 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $4.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Rusted Warfare - RTS on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $4.99
Release Date 7/14/2017
Developer Corroding Games
Publisher Corroding Games
Steam App Id 647960

9. Orcs Must Die!

Slice them, burn them, skewer them, and launch them - no matter how you get it done, orcs must die in this fantasy action-strategy game from Robot Entertainment.

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Orcs Must Die! has achieved a Player Score of 93, placing it in the #9 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 7,962 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 7,651 positive reviews and 311 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $9.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Orcs Must Die! on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $9.99
Release Date 10/11/2011
Franchise Robot Entertainment
Developer Robot Entertainment
Publisher Robot Entertainment
Steam App Id 102600

10. Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal

Creeper World 3 is what happens when cellular automata takes over a strategy simulation. Instead of discrete units that attack your base, a fluid-like substance spreads over the terraformable terrain. Your base, your weapons, your strategy... you must adapt them all.

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Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal has achieved a Player Score of 93, placing it in the #10 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 4,538 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 4,386 positive reviews and 152 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $14.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $14.99
Release Date 3/27/2014
Developer Knuckle Cracker
Publisher Knuckle Cracker
Steam App Id 280220

More Tower Defense Games

Explore even more rankings for the 100 best Tower Defense games available on Steam.

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Soures & References

Steambase has best-in-class data powered directly by Steam, our data partners, and in-house experts. Reviews and rankings are enriched, analyzed, and updated in real-time to ensure we surface the most up-to-date insights. Learn more about the Steambase approach to data collection and our review methodology.

  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 12). Steam Store. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 12). Bloons TD 6 on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, October 29). Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 10). Stronghold Crusader HD on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 4). Kingdom Rush - Tower Defense on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 11). Thronefall on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 4). Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Tower Defense on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 6). Mindustry on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, November 18). Rusted Warfare - RTS on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 11). Orcs Must Die! on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 5). Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal on Steam. Steam Store.

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