two & a half gamers – Raid Rush Review: If you miss Battle.net tower defense, Raid Rush is your new addiction.

Summary

Today, we deep-dive into Raid Rush, the Turkish-made tower defense game that is bringing roguelike deck-building, build-your-own-path mechanics, and IP crossovers to the top of the mobile charts. The crew unpacks why this game feels so deep, why Korean and US players are eating it up, and how the game balances heavy progression, smart ad placements, and old-school strategy with real modern LiveOps.

What’s inside:

A Real Tower Defense for 2025: Raid Rush lets you build your own road, place towers with real strategy, and merge and upgrade through a deck and gacha system. Every run is different thanks to randomization, new land placement, and a menu packed with modes, heroes, and skills.

IP Collabs Done Right: The Terminator crossover delivers a strong content boost and helps the game punch through to new audiences.

Monetization that Doesn’t Kill Play: Thirty percent of revenue comes from ads—think revive-for-rewarded, daily gems, store refreshes, and the rare interstitials—while purchases cover everything from shards to hard currency, but rarely feel forced.

Korea and the US Lead the Pack: With half the revenue from the US and a surprise showing in Korea, Raid Rush proves hardcore tower defense is far from dead.

Creative and UA Trends: The team breaks down a wild mix of real-life, static AI, and hyper-casual video hooks, plus some truly creative (and not-so-creative) uses of IP.

Chart Math: Less total scale than category giants, but best-in-class revenue per download and stable, loyal core players.

Key Takeaway:
Raid Rush shows you can still win by mixing deep strategy, roguelite randomness, smart ad and IAP segmentation, and just enough IP muscle. In a world of copycats, this one actually innovates.