Key role-playing game statistics
Top Role-Playing Game Apps
Role-Playing Game App Revenue
Role-Playing Game Revenue by App
Role-Playing Game App Usage
Role-Playing Game App Downloads
Role-Playing Game Downloads by App
Mobile role-playing games (RPGs) share much of their mechanics with traditional tabletop role-playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons and Call of Cthulhu. In both forms, players are able to explore game worlds while completing quests, battling opponents and evolving their characters.
Taking inspiration from tabletop, as well as wargames, simulation games, and historic literature, role-playing video games emerged on mainframe computers in the 1970s. These were mostly loose adaptations of Dungeons and Dragons. Early console games were more story-based than computer releases and a number of widely popular games were launched, including the Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy.
As technology evolved multiplayer modes became possible and expanded further with internet access. Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPGs) are now common and games such as World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online have a strong and sustained fanbase. With the move towards RPG apps, fantasy themes were retained.
RPGs was the top grossing game sector from 2019 to 2022. The genre is particularly lucrative in Asia, where 39 percent of all mobile game revenue stemmed from RPGs, according to figures from Sensor Tower. Many of the top apps were developed in Asia; Honor of Kings, Genshin Impact, and Mobile Legends were created by Chinese companies, Fate/Grand Order, Pokemon Unite, and Monster Strike were launched in Japan, and South Korean company NCSoft are behind the Lineage franchise.
RPGs lead the table in consumer spend, according to Data.ai. MMORPGs have been performing particularly well, which may be helped by the rise in cross-play features. Users can play against people using different platform versions of the same game.
Downloads of some of the biggest RPG apps have been impacted by India's ban on games originating from China. Other games, such as Japanese game Monster Strike, have expanded to other media including anime series and film adaptations, or form part of a bigger series like Pokemon.
We have collected data and statistics on the role-playing game sub-sector. Read on below to find out more.
Key role-playing game statistics
- The role-playing games sub-sector earned $20.2 billion in revenue in 2022, a fall from $23.5 billion the previous year
- Downloads of role-playing games hit 8.8 billion in 2022, a 114% increase from 2019
- Honor of Kings and Genshin Impact generated the most revenue in 2022, at $1.7 billion and $1.3 billion respectively
