In the game's medieval fantasy setting, players take control of a general serving under King Denas of Linirea, who must defend the land from an onslaught of evil monsters.

The studio was founded in 2010 by Álvaro Azofra, Pablo Realini and Gonzalo Sande, who conceived Kingdom Rush as their first major project after working on a number of minor Flash games.

[1][2] Levels are composed of a number of pre-set roads that enemies march across, and the player must defeat them before they reach the end of the path and drain lives to cause a game over.

Each tower type has its own distinct strengths, such as artillery being more effective against grouped monsters, archers better at targeting flying threats, and barracks training soldiers that attack in melee and slow down enemies.

[3][7] For example, the final upgrade for a mage tower could be either an "Arcane Wizard" that shoots magic beams and teleports monsters back down the road, or a "Sorcerer" that summons a defensive earth elemental and weakens enemy armor.

[4] Completing levels in Kingdom Rush allows the player to unlock new hero options and earn a currency called "stars", which can be spent in exchange for permanent upgrades for towers and defenses.

Learning that Vez'nan has invaded Linirea, the general returns to the capital city and defends it from the enemy army, proceeding into the nearby mountains with the objective of defeating the wizard.

The studio had been founded in 2010 by Álvaro Azofra, Pablo Realini and Gonzalo Sande, who conceived Kingdom Rush as their first major project after working on a number of minor Flash games.

An update called "Winter Storm" was released on March 21, 2013, adding a harder difficulty mode, new hero options, and two levels centered around the player fighting against the troll warlord Ulguk-Hai.

[12] A new set of levels collectively called the "Burning Torment" campaign was introduced on October 3, 2013, adding two additional heroes, five new types of enemies, and a boss fight against Moloch the Archdevil.

[14] An expansion composed of four levels and featuring eight new enemies was added for iOS on January 21, 2015, with the campaign centered around a battle against the evil Lord Blackburn and his undead army.

[2] Similarly, IGN found the final upgrades demonstrated a level of utility beyond the four base tower options, and gave prudent players a distinct advantage.

The reviewer concluded by saying that the game's combination of challenging mechanics with a lighthearted tone helped it stand out from the rest of the tower defense genre.

[20] The story of Vengeance sees the player controlling the dark wizard Vez'nan and his army, helping them fight against elves, dwarves, and the playable characters of the previous three games.

[22] Ironhide Game Studio released a spin-off title called Legends of Kingdom Rush on June 11, 2021, for iOS through Apple Arcade.