The Game Census
Defense Grid: The Awakening cover art

Defense Grid: The Awakening

Hidden Path Entertainment · 2008-12-08

SteamEpic Games Store

IndieStrategy

Modes: Single player

Releases: Sep 02, 2009 (Xbox 360), Dec 08, 2008 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Jun 08, 2010 (Mac), Nov 12, 2015 (Xbox One)

Defense Grid: The Awakening is a unique spin on tower defense gameplay that will appeal to players of all skill levels. A horde of enemies is invading, and it's up to the player to stop them by strategically building fortification towers around their base.

42
playing now
96%
positive of 5.4k reviews
Overwhelmingly Positive
steam rating
500,000–1,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
86/100
critic score (2 outlets, IGDB)
71/100
IGDB user rating (42 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
$9.99
steam price (US)

42 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 02:00 UTC (census sample)

Defense Grid: The Awakening is a tower defense video game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment for Windows and Xbox Live Arcade on the Xbox 360. The game was one of the titles promoted by Microsoft during their Game Developers Conference keynote speech on February 20, 2008. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on December 8, 2008, and for Xbox 360 on September 2, 2009. The OS X version shipped from Virtual Programming on July 7, 2010.

Health check

Quietly active
  • · 42 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 103 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~13/week).
  • · Review velocity up 1% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 8% of 18,104 Indie games in the census by review count.

Health tier since 2026-08-28

Estimated sales: 215k–429k copies

Review-multiple estimate from 5,368 total reviews — how this is computed.

All-time low: $1.49 at Steam (2014-12-19) · bundled 2×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $9.99 · on sale 5 of 10 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
525220182026Week of 2018-01-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 4 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 2 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 52 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 5 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 21 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 16 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 12 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 11 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 6 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 9 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 8 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 5 positive
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

61242026-08-06 22:00 — 36 players2026-08-07 06:00 — 24 players2026-08-07 14:00 — 36 players2026-08-07 22:00 — 59 players2026-08-08 06:00 — 33 players2026-08-08 14:00 — 49 players2026-08-08 22:00 — 61 players2026-08-09 06:00 — 33 players2026-08-09 14:00 — 42 players2026-08-09 22:00 — 60 players2026-08-10 06:00 — 37 players2026-08-10 14:00 — 46 players2026-08-10 22:00 — 42 players2026-08-11 06:00 — 29 players2026-08-11 14:00 — 38 players2026-08-12 22:00 — 55 players2026-08-14 05:00 — 35 players2026-08-15 13:00 — 57 players2026-08-16 21:00 — 60 players2026-08-18 04:00 — 36 players2026-08-19 12:00 — 32 players2026-08-20 19:00 — 57 players2026-08-22 03:00 — 37 players2026-08-23 10:00 — 38 players2026-08-24 18:00 — 56 players2026-08-26 02:00 — 40 players2026-08-27 10:00 — 35 players2026-08-28 18:00 — 47 players2026-08-30 02:00 — 42 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$16.99$0.002015-01-012026-07-092015-01-01 — best price $2.492015-08-25 — best price $2.492015-12-22 — best price $2.492016-06-23 — best price $2.492016-11-23 — best price $2.492017-01-05 — best price $3.402017-08-15 — best price $7.992017-10-26 — best price $2.492017-11-29 — best price $9.992018-01-01 — best price $2.002018-04-13 — best price $9.992018-05-21 — best price $9.992018-11-01 — best price $9.992018-12-20 — best price $2.492019-02-04 — best price $2.492019-10-28 — best price $2.492019-12-20 — best price $2.492020-04-30 — best price $2.492020-11-20 — best price $2.492020-12-20 — best price $0.002021-01-07 — best price $9.992021-07-08 — best price $9.992021-11-01 — best price $9.992022-07-07 — best price $9.992023-07-13 — best price $9.992023-11-28 — best price $9.992024-03-21 — best price $9.992024-08-05 — best price $9.992025-01-02 — best price $9.992025-07-10 — best price $9.992026-01-05 — best price $9.992026-03-26 — best price $9.992026-07-09 — best price $9.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

40122026-05-31 — 29 pageviews2026-06-03 — 22 pageviews2026-06-06 — 22 pageviews2026-06-09 — 16 pageviews2026-06-12 — 18 pageviews2026-06-15 — 25 pageviews2026-06-18 — 14 pageviews2026-06-21 — 23 pageviews2026-06-24 — 22 pageviews2026-06-27 — 20 pageviews2026-06-30 — 26 pageviews2026-07-03 — 31 pageviews2026-07-06 — 20 pageviews2026-07-09 — 22 pageviews2026-07-12 — 23 pageviews2026-07-15 — 14 pageviews2026-07-18 — 25 pageviews2026-07-21 — 29 pageviews2026-07-24 — 16 pageviews2026-07-27 — 40 pageviews2026-07-30 — 30 pageviews2026-08-02 — 22 pageviews2026-08-05 — 21 pageviews2026-08-08 — 19 pageviews2026-08-11 — 12 pageviews2026-08-14 — 23 pageviews2026-08-17 — 25 pageviews2026-08-20 — 32 pageviews2026-08-23 — 16 pageviews2026-08-26 — 26 pageviews2026-08-28 — 30 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

60+
achievements tracked
93.3%
earned "First Blood"
51.3%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsFull controller supportSingle-playerSteam AchievementsFull controller supportSteam Trading CardsRemote Play on TVFamily Sharing6 DLC

5 supported languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Steam (Steam)28,2302%87

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Player tags

IndieActionAliensSci-fiStrategyAddictiveAdventureControllerFuturisticReplay Value

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Unclaimed WorldENDLESS Legend™RimWorldGET EVENZigguratFactorioThe Jackbox Party Pack 3Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗Discord ↗Reddit ↗