{"id":1832889,"date":"2026-03-18T17:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1832889"},"modified":"2026-03-18T17:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:07:10","slug":"tower-defence-game-tangy-td-has-made-over-250k-since-an-early-march-launch-on-steam-prompting-its-solo-dev-to-burst-into-tears-twice-already","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1832889","title":{"rendered":"Tower defence game Tangy TD has made over $250k since an early March launch on Steam, prompting its solo dev to burst into tears twice already"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Tower defence game Tangy TD has made over $250k since an early March launch on Steam, prompting its solo dev to burst into tears twice already<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Hitting it big.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Tangy-TD-gameplay.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Tangy TD gameplay\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Tangy-TD-gameplay.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Cakez<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-03-18T17:07:10+00:00\">March 18, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The world is a rather miserable place right now, but at least video games are cool. In the face of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/warner-bros-montreal-devs-report-layoffs\">endless layoffs<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/nvidia-responds-to-widespread-criticism-of-dlss-5-by-telling-us-were-all-completely-wrong\">AI slop<\/a>, plenty of studios and small developers continue to find success, and sometimes we even come across particularly wholesome bits of news such as this one.<\/p>\n<p>Do you like tower defence strategy games? I personally loved them since the early Warcraft 3 days, so <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2245620\/Tangy_TD\/\">Tangy TD<\/a> already half-had me with its basic premise and lovely art style. Now the game is out and has found quite a bit of success. In fact, it&#8217;s made its developer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@Cakez77\/videos\">Cakez<\/a>, who worked solo on it for four years, cry twice already.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesradar.com\/games\/after-4-years-of-work-solo-dev-breaks-down-in-tears-after-opening-steam-and-learning-his-game-made-usd250-000-in-a-week-i-feel-like-i-really-dont-deserve-this\/\">GamesRadar<\/a> reported on the game&#8217;s success yesterday, 17th March, while also pointing out Cakez is a streamer and youtuber who&#8217;s been paying special attention to indie games at the same time he was working on his own. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dexerto.com\/twitch\/game-dev-bursts-into-tears-on-twitch-after-seeing-his-steam-sales-for-the-first-time-3333661\/\">Dexerto<\/a> shared an article on 11th March highlighting his tearful reaction to hitting roughly $30k after only a day of the game being live. Barely a week later, it&#8217;s gone viral and crossed the $250k mark. Here&#8217;s his reaction when he found out next to his wife:<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed_wrapper\" data-domain=\"twitter.com\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Game dev Cakez77 and his wife react after finding out his game earned $250,000 after going viral <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pIWHWyLCMa\">pic.twitter.com\/pIWHWyLCMa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dexerto (@Dexerto) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Dexerto\/status\/2033956904506970243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 17, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<p>Yesterday, the net revenue was already at $197,847 with 28,078 units sold. After this second clip potentially going viral too, it&#8217;s likely the numbers are much higher today. In any case, it&#8217;s heartwarming to see someone who&#8217;s passionately been working on his own solo project and sharing steady progress with his community find success at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesindustry.biz\/discoverability-is-a-problem-that-will-never-be-solved-opinion\">Discoverability has become a bit of a problem<\/a> for aspiring indie developers, so you might have a good game in your hands that just never finds its audience. Of course, in Cakez&#8217;s case, there was a previously established community who was willing to check the game out, but even then, that doesn&#8217;t guarantee a wider Steam hit. Furthermore, the game is currently sitting at 89 percent &#8216;very positive&#8217; reviews on the platform, so players are actually enjoying Tangy TD, with many of them stating they made the purchase after seeing the viral clips and finding a lot to like in the game&#8217;s promised style and loop.<\/p>\n<p>The witch-starring TD game is all about placing &#8220;class-based towers&#8221; and upgrading them with all sorts of mixes and synergies enabling different builds. It&#8217;s keeping things simple in spite of its recognisable roguelite structure, and according to some reviews, it doesn&#8217;t go on for longer than it needs to, at least in its current version.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The world is a rather miserable place right now, but at least video games are cool. In the face of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/warner-bros-montreal-devs-report-layoffs\">endless layoffs<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/nvidia-responds-to-widespread-criticism-of-dlss-5-by-telling-us-were-all-completely-wrong\">AI slop<\/a>, plenty of studios and small developers continue to find success, and sometimes we even come across particularly wholesome bits of news such as this one.<\/p>\n<p>Do you like tower defence strategy games? I personally loved them since the early Warcraft 3 days, so <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2245620\/Tangy_TD\/\">Tangy TD<\/a> already half-had me with its basic premise and lovely art style. Now the game is out and has found quite a bit of success. In fact, it&#8217;s made its developer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@Cakez77\/videos\">Cakez<\/a>, who worked solo on it for four years, cry twice already.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesradar.com\/games\/after-4-years-of-work-solo-dev-breaks-down-in-tears-after-opening-steam-and-learning-his-game-made-usd250-000-in-a-week-i-feel-like-i-really-dont-deserve-this\/\">GamesRadar<\/a> reported on the game&#8217;s success yesterday, 17th March, while also pointing out Cakez is a streamer and youtuber who&#8217;s been paying special attention to indie games at the same time he was working on his own. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dexerto.com\/twitch\/game-dev-bursts-into-tears-on-twitch-after-seeing-his-steam-sales-for-the-first-time-3333661\/\">Dexerto<\/a> shared an article on 11th March highlighting his tearful reaction to hitting roughly $30k after only a day of the game being live. Barely a week later, it&#8217;s gone viral and crossed the $250k mark. Here&#8217;s his reaction when he found out next to his wife:<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed_wrapper\" data-domain=\"twitter.com\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Game dev Cakez77 and his wife react after finding out his game earned $250,000 after going viral <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pIWHWyLCMa\">pic.twitter.com\/pIWHWyLCMa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dexerto (@Dexerto) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Dexerto\/status\/2033956904506970243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 17, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<p>Yesterday, the net revenue was already at $197,847 with 28,078 units sold. After this second clip potentially going viral too, it&#8217;s likely the numbers are much higher today. In any case, it&#8217;s heartwarming to see someone who&#8217;s passionately been working on his own solo project and sharing steady progress with his community find success at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesindustry.biz\/discoverability-is-a-problem-that-will-never-be-solved-opinion\">Discoverability has become a bit of a problem<\/a> for aspiring indie developers, so you might have a good game in your hands that just never finds its audience. Of course, in Cakez&#8217;s case, there was a previously established community who was willing to check the game out, but even then, that doesn&#8217;t guarantee a wider Steam hit. Furthermore, the game is currently sitting at 89 percent &#8216;very positive&#8217; reviews on the platform, so players are actually enjoying Tangy TD, with many of them stating they made the purchase after seeing the viral clips and finding a lot to like in the game&#8217;s promised style and loop.<\/p>\n<p>The witch-starring TD game is all about placing &#8220;class-based towers&#8221; and upgrading them with all sorts of mixes and synergies enabling different builds. It&#8217;s keeping things simple in spite of its recognisable roguelite structure, and according to some reviews, it doesn&#8217;t go on for longer than it needs to, at least in its current version.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Tower defence game Tangy TD has made over $250k since an early March launch on Steam, prompting its solo dev to burst into tears twice already Hitting it big. Image credit: Cakez News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on March 18, 2026 The world is a rather miserable place right now, but at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1832889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1832889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1832889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1832889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1832889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}