2019 Predictions: These Three RPG Categories Will Grow Further

The mobile Role-Playing Game (RPG) sector in Western markets represents a significant growth opportunity, currently holding the position of the third-largest mobile gaming category. While Western performance lags behind the mature RPG markets of China, Japan, and Korea, the genre demonstrates high revenue-to-download ratios, indicating strong monetization potential. Analysis of the top 500 games, excluding Asian markets, reveals that success in this space is increasingly driven by sophisticated live operations, deep meta-game design, and the strategic use of intellectual property.

The market is segmented into several sub-categories, with Puzzle RPGs experiencing rapid growth driven by titles like Empires & Puzzles, which successfully combined accessible match-3 mechanics with deep meta-progression. Turn-based RPGs remain a competitive, high-barrier-to-entry space where established hits like Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes and Marvel: Strike Force dominate. Conversely, Action RPGs and MMORPGs have struggled to gain significant traction in the West, often failing to replicate the massive success seen in Asian territories. Survival games remain a niche, currently dominated by a single title, Last Day on Earth.

Methodologically, these insights are derived from a genre taxonomy developed in collaboration with Game Refinery, utilizing Sensor Tower data to track the top 500 mobile games. The analysis concludes that the Western RPG market is maturing, requiring massive development investment and an efficient content pipeline to compete. Future growth is expected to be driven by the continued expansion of the RPG category, with a bold prediction that it will eventually surpass strategy games to become the second-largest mobile category in the West. Success remains contingent on balancing accessibility with depth and maintaining rigorous, event-driven live operations.