RPGs Reportedly on the Rise as the Live Service, Battle Royale Trend Falters

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Do you recall when PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) emerged, and it seemed like every multiplayer project was moving towards the live service battle royale model? This trend has been persisting for nearly a decade now, but a recent report indicates that this fascination might be gradually waning.

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Meanwhile, RPGs are apparently on the rise — but that’s obviously a much broader genre to consider.

As a gamer myself, I’ve noticed a shift based on recent data tracked by Newzoo, a research firm that monitors gaming activity across consoles and PCs globally excluding China and India. Their report suggests a downtrend in the amount of time gamers are spending on battle royale titles. This engagement has dropped significantly from 19% in 2021 to a projected 12% by 2024.

On the contrary, it’s quite intriguing to note that while these findings suggest a decline in Fortnite’s popularity, the game has surprisingly seen an increase in player engagement during the same time frame. Last year, Epic Games’ battle royale titan accounted for a whopping 77% of total playtime, marking a significant jump from its 43% share in 2021.

The idea here is that other games are struggling to match Fortnite’s popularity, as this vibrant shooter game has taken over the market so thoroughly – and there’s a possibility it might even be hindering its own expansion.

As a gamer, I can’t help but notice the surge in my gaming hours devoted to RPGs. It seems that around 13% of my overall gameplay time is now swallowed by this genre, which was only 9% last year. The reason behind this increase? Epic titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, Diablo 4, and Hogwarts Legacy have been a massive hit, not to mention the immensely popular gacha games such as Honkai: Star Rail. It’s clear that ‘RPG’ is a vast and evolving genre these days.

A compelling analysis, indeed, but it’s worth noting that one might have predicted these trends merely by following the news reports.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen numerous live service games fail, while stories of success are more common among ‘hardcore’ releases. It’s important to note that the free-to-play, live service market is still significantly larger than other sectors within video gaming, but there appears to be a change in preference, particularly in terms of public opinion.

What’s your take on all this? Become the finest armchair analyst in the comments section below.

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2025-04-10 18:36