The Most Popular Online Gaming Genres

The online gaming industry was valued at $56 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $132 billion by 2030. The expected 10.2% CAGR of online gaming dwarfs that of related sectors; the movie industry, for instance, has a CAGR that hovers around 8%.

All of this is a way of saying that there are a lot of people playing online games these days. And while the popularity is due, in part, to the sheer range of options available to gamers, in many cases we find that the public is mostly drawn to a few specific genres of game. Let’s take a closer look at the handful of game genres that attract the bulk of the attention.

Role-Playing Games

From a pure ‘number of players’ perspective, role-playing games — or RPGs for short — aren’t as popular as other genres. But from a passion perspective, there’s arguably no bigger genre. Fans of RPGs spend significant sums on mods that help to give them a small advantage in the hyper-competitive world of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. World Of Warcraft, Old School RuneScape, and Warframe are just some of the most popular MMORPGs. Indeed, some 1.2 million people play World Of Warcraft each day. 

Battle Royale Games

Battle Royale games are intense, but fun. The goal is to be the last person standing, and that’s not always as straightforward as it should be, since there are often thousands of real-world people intent on making sure that doesn’t happen. The genre has ballooned in popularity in recent years, in part due to the free-to-play business model, and, as such, there’s a host of hugely popular games out there. Fortnite, perhaps the most successful battle royale game of all time, stormed the world upon its 2017 release. Since then, developers have released several critically-acclaimed battle royale games, including the much-lauded Apex Legends.

Slot Games

Slot games have been popular since well before the internet arrived in our world. Indeed, the very first slot game — using mechanical functions, of course — dates all the way back to 1894. However, this genre really came into its own in the digital era. Today, online platforms like PokerStars Casino offer more than a thousand different slot games, and new ones are added all the time. From Egyptian slots to games based on famous movie characters and musicians, the online slot world has never been as varied as it is today. 

Sports Games

Sports games have been popular since the early days of video gaming. The online gaming revolution just helped to push this style of gaming into the future. The two most popular sports games are FIFA (soccer) and NBA2K24 (basketball). Other popular sports games include Forza Horizon (racing), Rocket League (arcade soccer), and, somewhat surprisingly, Russian Fishing 4 (fishing) which at one particular moment in history some 20,000 people were playing at the same time.

Hyper Casual Games

Video game purists scoff at hypercasual games due to their simplicity, but there’s no denying that they’ve proven to be hugely popular. For many people, hypercasual gaming is their one and only foray into the gaming world. These games feature easy-to-play gameplay that you can pick up in seconds. They’re designed to be short and enjoyable, suitable for playing during a commute rather than at home. But there are a lot of people who have to commute to work, so it’s a popular genre.

Strategy Games

Strategy games are a big investment, timewise, but they pay off handsomely once you finally succeed. These games require precise planning and execution, and there’s always a chance that something will go wrong. Strategy games come in all shapes and sizes, though war-based strategy games are the most common type. StarCraft 2, Into the Breach, and Command & Conquered are some of the most popular strategy games of all time.

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