D&D Increases Its Lead In Orr Groups Q3 2015 Report

It's that time again! Every quarter or so, we get stats from The Orr Group, Fantasy Grounds, and ICv2. Usually, they all say the same thing - over the last year, they've all been saying that Dungeons & Dragons has retaken its #1 market position from Pathfinder. The Orr Group's Q3 2015 (that's July - September) stats just came in. The Orr Group maintains the Roll20 virtual tabletop app, which has over a million users. These stats indicate that D&D has held on to its overall lead, and that for the first time the player count is the highest, as opposed to just the number of games.

Below, as usual, I present the stats. D&D leads Pathfinder by 10% in terms of number of games, and by 3% in terms of number of players. I'm not sure how to interpret those two different figures - but I'm sure you will in the comments! Interestingly, D&D 4E is higher than any non-D&D-derived (by which I include Pathfinder) game - D&D and its derivatives have nearly 70% of the number of games played. As Monte Cook once observed in an interview I conducted with him and Shanna Germain, it's interesting that the top spots are being vied for by variations of Dungeons & Dragons by a BIG margin.

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Orr Group's previous report is here. In that report D&D had 25% of the number of games, and 31% of the number of players, and now it has 30% and 41% respectively. That's some growth. Pathfinder has dropped very slightly (and it is slight) to 20% and 37% from 21% and 40%.

Also see the ICv2 figures from the last few years (I expect new figures soon). They say much the same thing, especially the Spring 2015 ICv2 report, as, indeed, did Fantasy Grounds' latest report (although now they're officially licensed by WotC their stats are probably not as useful).

 

[TerraDave]

Not too surprising. Looks like people are coming over from other D&Ds.

Interesting to see some of the other games. 547 Stars without numbers games, 328 apocalypse world games, and 54 games of something called the MAID RPG.

 

[Maxboy]

I'm still amazed at how many 3.5 players are still about

 

[turkeygiant]

So this is just the numbers of people playing games right? What would be really interesting to see is if 5e has brought entirely new money into the rpg market to be spent, or if it is instead just eating up all the money that would have gone to Pathfinder in previous years?

I'm guessing it's probably a mix of both, but I would bet Paizo is watching very carefully to make sure they don't let it be too much of the former. Im still surprised they haven't come up with any gamelines of their own (that I know of) it would make sense to me not to have all your eggs in the "D&D alternative" basket especially when people are flocking to D&D and not away from it.

 

[Morrus]

I find it interesting that almost the same number of people playing Pathfinder stuck with D&D 3.5. I personally would go with the supported variation of the ruleset (i.e. Pathfinder) but it seems that a significnt number of people see value in the base 3.5 ruleset.

 

[Cody C. Lewis]

When I heard (a few years ago now) about DnD coming out with a new edition and that they were going to have an open playtest for fans to give them feedback I remember thinking "Good for them. But honestly it's too little, too late."

I cannot believe how FAST this edition has been accepted by the community.

I think it has made me come to realize... Pathfinder was always only ever borrowing players who grew up with 'Dungeons and Dragons'.

Which is a shame really. I feel like Paizo kept DnD(as in tabletop rpgs not truly D&D) alive for a lot of people that might not have continued to support the industry if they were only given the choice of 4e or a 3.5 that had no new products really being released with the exception of SOME 3rd parties.

I am torn because I feel like Paizo > WOTC; 5e > PF

 

[Hussar]

I find it interesting that almost the same number of people playing Pathfinder stuck with D&D 3.5. I personally would go with the supported variation of the ruleset (i.e. Pathfinder) but it seems that a significnt number of people see value in the base 3.5 ruleset.

I think we underestimate the number of players out there who don't buy new books. I mean, good grief, even though there hasn't been a new 3.5 book out in years, there's still hundreds, if not thousands (if you count 3pp) titles for the line. There's enough modules for 3.5 to essentially play forever and never have to write a single adventure. Dozens of settings and whatnot. And, because of the Hypertext SRD, you can play 3.5 with very little buy in.

Yes, I know Pathfinder has an online srd as well, but, those who started and stayed with 3e have no real reason to change, and the Pathfinder books are so darn thick, and you still only have a single setting with a solid wall of adventures deeply buried in that single setting, I think it becomes somewhat impenetrable for new players.

What blows my mind is you have one MILLION players on Roll20. Holy CRAP! Online play has landed and it's here to stay.

 

[Quatermane]

I am very pleased to see D&D riding this new wave of RPG interest. Fifth edition is excellent IMHO. My players really like it and look forward to more content for it.

Of course, the D&D brand recognition is so deep that it will likely always have presence in the industry. Kinda like Coca-cola and Pepsi... the brand is the thing.

In my circles and travels where I meet people that are not gaming fans...
If I bring up that I play RPGs, the general initial assumption is that it is an online game of some kind.
If I bring up that I play Pathfinder or Dungeon World, often I get lost looks or people asking if those are some kind of new computer game.
But if I bring up Dungeons & Dragons as my hobby... immediate recognition of what I am talking about... and lately... many questions about how to get into a gaming group to give it a try.

The advent of online video presentations of D&D sessions is also fueling the resurgence of RPG interest. More and more people seem to be tuning into this phenomenon called D&D through Youtube and Twitch.
More and more I see people asking how best to begin their adventures in D&D through chat and discussion board entries associated with D&D video sessions.

Good for D&D... good for other RPGs and gaming product creators riding this wave of interest.... better for all of us looking for people to begin a gaming group.

 

[HonorBoundSamurai632]

When I heard (a few years ago now) about DnD coming out with a new edition and that they were going to have an open playtest for fans to give them feedback I remember thinking "Good for them. But honestly it's too little, too late."

I cannot believe how FAST this edition has been accepted by the community.

I think it has made me come to realize... Pathfinder was always only ever borrowing players who grew up with 'Dungeons and Dragons'.

Which is a shame really. I feel like Paizo kept DnD(as in tabletop rpgs not truly D&D) alive for a lot of people that might not have continued to support the industry if they were only given the choice of 4e or a 3.5 that had no new products really being released with the exception of SOME 3rd parties.

I am torn because I feel like Paizo > WOTC; 5e > PF

I have to agree with this. I really like 5th Edition, but can't stand the way that WOTC is so secretive about everything. I love the fact that Paizo has no problem letting you know what they are up to, that on their forums they will sometimes sign in and comment on what people are talking about or suggesting ..... and I LOVE Pathfinder!! But .... as much as I love Pathfinder, (and how much support they have from 3PP .... that big Freeport book, DSP's Ultimate Psionics, and AAW's Rise of the Drow are all amazing,) they are not D&D. Sure, DSP's Psionics Bestiary, has something in it like a Mindflayer .... but it's still not a Mindflayer. I missed Beholders. I missed the Giths.

I know I'm going to catch so much flack for this ..... but sometimes WoTC strikes me like they have this attitude like we, the player, owe them because they saved our game from the failing hands of TSR. Yet Paizo seems to really appreciate the fact that we have given their game a fair chance. But damn ...... I really do enjoy 5th so much. The only thing that bothers me, is that in order to get the official stats on Tiamat and the Demon-lords, I had to buy WoTC's lackluster adventures.

I also wish that WoTC would just scrap their ideas for psionics and just hook-up with Dreamscarred Press and get psionics right for 5th Edition.

 

[Agamon]

I find it interesting that almost the same number of people playing Pathfinder stuck with D&D 3.5. I personally would go with the supported variation of the ruleset (i.e. Pathfinder) but it seems that a significnt number of people see value in the base 3.5 ruleset.

Actually, the number of players for each game comes from what people mark in their profile under "Enjoys Playing", not what they are currently playing. So similar numbers for both 3.5 and Pathfinder makes sense.