MMORPGs experienced a huge hype in the early 2000s thanks to WoW. Over the years, tons of new games have appeared that want a piece of the big MMO pie. Although MMORPGs are still popular, they are no longer as dominant on the PC. Nevertheless, MMORPGs were among the most successful gaming genres of all in 2021 – thanks to smartphones.
How successful are MMORPGs? If you only look at the PC and console market, action, sports and adventure games dominate. Role-playing games and even MMORPGs can be found in the upper middle field on many lists. Overall, all PC and console games in 2021 generated sales of around 82 billion euros (via Newzoo).
In mobile games, on the other hand, there was a small surprise in 2021. The second most successful genre – measured by sales – are mobile MMORPGs, with sales of almost 8 billion euros (via Data.ai). They were able to noticeably increase. For comparison:
But it is precisely the mobile MMORPGs that bring in a lot of money that many classic PC fans would not even touch with pliers.
These are currently the 7 most popular MMORPGs in 2022
Mobile MMORPGs are not the most popular, but they are the most lucrative games
What are the dominant mobile MMORPGs? Games like:
What is striking about it? If you look at the statistics of the mobile games that were downloaded the most in 2021, not a single one appears in the top 10 in the world. Casual games like Hair Challenge or racing games like Bridge Race or High Heels dominate here.
If you look at the mobile games that have been downloaded the most, you will find games like PUBG Mobile, the free shooter Garena Free Fire or Pokémon GO. Most monthly users also have Roblox, Candy Crush, and Coin Master.
There is nothing to be seen from MMORPGs in these statistics either.
Mobile MMORPGs are not necessarily the most popular games, but they manage to monetize their content in such a way that many players spend money on it. However, this is often associated with Pay2Win.
Blizzard’s Diablo Immortal was also a disappointment in this regard. There you have to spend more than 500,000 euros to get the best equipment, as the latest findings show.
In the latest podcast, Leya and Schuhmann discussed the negative effects this shop has on gaming in general:
Are there bright spots? no In our list of the best mobile MMORPGs for Android and iOS you will also find games that are already available on the PC and that later got a mobile version. These include RuneScape and Albion Online. These then get by without Pay2Win.
There are also some MMORPGs that appear simultaneously for PC and mobile and also do without Pay2Win. A prominent example is Tower of Fantasy, which is reminiscent of Genshin Impact:
Tower of Fantasy is the MMORPG that Genshin Impact should have been