Best Tower Defense Games on Steam
Steam currently has 3,465 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 6/16/2026.
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1. 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.
Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition 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 153,338 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 149,799 positive reviews and 3,539 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 |
2. 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.
Bloons TD 6 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 388,794 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 377,884 positive reviews and 10,910 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $13.99 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 | $13.99 |
| Release Date | 12/18/2018 |
| Franchise | Ninja Kiwi Games |
| Developer | Ninja Kiwi |
| Publisher | Ninja Kiwi |
| Steam App Id | 960090 |
3. Stronghold Crusader HD (2012)
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.
Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) 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 20,921 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 20,406 positive reviews and 515 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 Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Steam Price | $9.99 |
| 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!
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 16,644 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 16,191 positive reviews and 453 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.
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 23,127 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 22,253 positive reviews and 874 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 |
| Franchise | Mythwright |
| Developers | |
| Publishers | |
| 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 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 10,475 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 10,135 positive reviews and 340 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.
Mindustry has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #7 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 26,993 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 25,849 positive reviews and 1,144 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).
8. OBS Studio
Free and open-source software for video recording and live streaming
OBS Studio has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #8 spot for the best Tower Defense games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 53,477 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 50,917 positive reviews and 2,560 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is completely free to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run OBS Studio on the Steam Deck.
| Release Date | 3/21/2022 |
| Developer | OBS Project |
| Publisher | OBS Project |
| Steam App Id | 1905180 |
9. 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.
Rusted Warfare - RTS 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 7,310 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 7,047 positive reviews and 263 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 |
10. Emberward
Build twisting mazes with tetromino blocks and deploy unique towers in this strategic roguelite tower defense adventure!
Emberward 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 3,723 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 3,608 positive reviews and 115 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $14.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Emberward on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Steam Price | $14.99 |
| Release Date | 6/25/2024 |
| Developers | |
| Publishers | |
| Steam App Id | 2459550 |
More Tower Defense Games
Explore even more rankings for the 100 best Tower Defense games available on Steam.
| Image | Name | Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,660 | 5/5/2009 | 96 | $4.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 8,398 | 12/18/2018 | 96 | $13.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 336 | 10/21/2013 | 95 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 264 | 1/6/2014 | 95 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 270 | 10/11/2024 | 94 | $12.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 131 | 7/25/2016 | 94 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 1,035 | 9/26/2019 | 94 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 15,862 | 3/21/2022 | 94 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 200 | 7/14/2017 | 93 | $4.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 102 | 6/25/2024 | 93 | $14.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 5 | 10/11/2011 | 93 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 98 | 3/27/2014 | 93 | $14.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 118 | 10/21/2013 | 93 | $5.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 37 | 12/8/2008 | 93 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 138 | 10/17/2018 | 93 | $14.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 9 | 9/8/2020 | 92 | $4.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 140 | 11/19/2014 | 92 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 6 | 1/24/2024 | 92 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 2 | 8/5/2020 | 92 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 69 | 4/2/2024 | 92 | $8.39 | Steam Charts |
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. (2026, June 16). Steam Store. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, June 16). Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, June 23). Bloons TD 6 on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, June 9). Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, June 24). Kingdom Rush - Tower Defense on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, June 23). Thronefall on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, June 24). Kingdom Rush Frontiers - Tower Defense on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, June 23). Mindustry on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, June 23). OBS Studio on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, May 17). Rusted Warfare - RTS on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, June 22). Emberward on Steam. Steam Store.