This is a compilation of the icv2.com retailer surveys of Top Five Roleplaying Games. They are generally compiled quarterly (with some exceptions). ICv2 notes that "the chart [are] based on interviews with retailers, distributors, and manufacturers." Thanks to jodyjohnson for sterling compilation work and to ZsuEtAm over on WotC's D&D forums for finding the pre-2008 entries.
For timescale context, I highly encourage you compare chart changes with events listed in my chart TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History.
In the below chart, I've listed games only for space reasons, unless more than one company produced games with the same or similar names (e.g. multiple Star Wars games), in which case I noted the company in parenthesis. Where ties exist, I put the incumbent first.
For a color-coded (by company) version from Summer 2008 up until Spring 2014 (sorry, I made it before finding out about the 2004-2007 data!), click here.
*Mongoose Publishing is a company name rather than a game, but this is what ICv2 reported.
**Green Ronin is a company name rather than a game, but this is what ICv2 reported.
Below may not be the clearest of graphs, but it maps the positions of games with 3 or more entries in the ICv2 charts over time.
- These are not based on actual sales figures. With very few exceptions, sales figures are not available for any of these products.
- These do not take into account online sales, direct sales, Amazon, or anything other than hobby retail sales (although they do include Kickstarter).
- These are based on interviews with hobby game retailers and distributors.
- The RPG industry is tiny. ICv2 estimates its total size (US) as only $65M; see the table below.
- Note the addition of Kickstarter sales included in the 2015 figures onwards.
US Hobby Game Market ($ millions); based on figures from ICv2
| Category | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collectible games | $450 | $550 | $625 (+14%) | $750 (+12%) | $725 (-3%) | $625 (-14%) |
| Miniatures | $125 | $125 | $175 (+40%) | $205 (+17%) | $270 (+32%) | $285 (+7%) |
| Boardgames | $75 | $125 ($160) | $250 (+56%) | $305 (+22%) | $345 (+13%) | $370 (+7%) |
| Card & dice games | $35 | $55 ($60) | $105 (+75%) | $130 (+24%) | $150 (+15%) | $150 |
| Roleplaying games | $15 | $25 | $35 (+40%) | $45 (+28%) | $55 (+22%) | $65 (+18%) |
Total | $700 | $880 ($920) | $1,190 (+29%) | $1,435 (+21%) | $1,545 (+8%) | $1,495 (-3%) |
In the below chart, I've listed games only for space reasons, unless more than one company produced games with the same or similar names (e.g. multiple Star Wars games), in which case I noted the company in parenthesis. Where ties exist, I put the incumbent first.
For a color-coded (by company) version from Summer 2008 up until Spring 2014 (sorry, I made it before finding out about the 2004-2007 data!), click here.
| Period | #5 | #4 | #3 | #2 | #1 | Events (click for more) |
| Q3 2004 | - | - | GURPS | World of Darkness | Dungeons & Dragons | WoW and Facebook both launched this year. |
| Q4 2004 | Mutants & Masterminds | Mongoose* | GURPS | World of Darkness | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q1 2005 | Green Ronin** | Mongoose* | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2E (Black Industries/Green Ronin) | World of Darkness | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q2 2005 | Green Ronin** | Mongoose* | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2E (Black Industries/Green Ronin) | World of Darkness | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q4 2005 | Mongoose* | Green Ronin** | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2E (Black Industries/Green Ronin) | World of Darkness | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q1 2006 | Exalted | Mutants & Masterminds | World of Darkness | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2E (Black Industries/Green Ronin) | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q2 2006 | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2E (Black Industries/Green Ronin) | Mutants & Masterminds | Exalted | World of Darkness | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q3 2006 | GURPS | Exalted | Mutants & Masterminds | World of Darkness | Dungeons & Dragons | White Wolf merges with Eve Online publisher CCP. |
| Q4 2006 | BESM | Mutants & Masterminds | Exalted | World of Darkness | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q1 2007 | Scion | Exalted | World of Darkness | Mutants & Masterminds | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q2 2007 | Scion | World of Darkness | Warhammer Fantasy 2E (Black Industries/Green Ronin) | Star Wars (WotC) | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q3 2007 | Exalted | Battlestar Galactica | Scion | World of Darkness | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q4 2007 | Shadowrun | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2E (Black Industries/Green Ronin) | World of Darkness | Warhammer 40k Roleplay | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q1 2008 | Mutants & Masterminds | World of Darkness | Warhammer 40k: Dark Heresy | Exalted | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Summer 2008 | Exalted | Shadowrun | World of Darkness | Warhammer 40K: Dark Heresy | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Fall 2008 | Pathfinder | Shadowrun | World of Darkness | Warhammer 40K: Dark Heresy | Dungeons and Dragons | Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition released. |
| Winter 2008-2009 | Shadowrun | Star Wars (WotC) | World of Darkness | Warhammer 40k: Dark Heresy | Dungeons and Dragons | |
| Q2 2009 | Shadowrun | Song of Ice and Fire | World of Darkness | Warhammer 40k: Dark Heresy | Dungeons and Dragons | Kickstarter launched. |
| Q3 2009 | Shadowrun | Song of Ice and Fire | World of Darkness | Pathfinder | Dungeons and Dragons | Pathfinder RPG launched. |
| Q4 2009 | World of Darkness | Rogue Trader/Dark Heresy | Warhammer Fantasy RPG 3E (FFG) | Pathfinder | Dungeons and Dragons | |
| Q1 2010 | Dragon Age | Rogue Trader/Dark Heresy | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3E (FFG) | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q2 2010 | Rogue Trader/Dark Heresy | ShadowRun | Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3E (FFG) | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q3 2010 | Dresden Files | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader | Warhammer Fantasy 3E (FFG) | (Tie) Pathfinder | (Tie) Dungeons & Dragons | Dungeons & Dragons Essentials launched. |
| Q4 2010 | Mutants and Masterminds, inc. DC | Dragon Age | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q1 2011 | Mutants and Masterminds, inc. DC | Dragon Age | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Q2 2011 | Shadowrun | Dragon Age | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch | Dungeons & Dragons | Pathfinder | For the first time, D&D is not the top-selling RPG. |
| Summer 2011 | Shadowrun | Dragon Age | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch | Dungeons & Dragons | Pathfinder | |
| Q4 2011 | The One Ring | Dragon Age | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch | Dungeons & Dragons | Pathfinder | |
| Spring 2012 | Marvel Heroic Roleplaying | Dragon Age | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch | Dungeons & Dragons | Pathfinder | D&D 5th Edition announced and public playtest begins. |
| Summer 2012 | Dungeon Crawl Classics | Dragon Age | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch | Dungeons & Dragons | Pathfinder | |
| Fall 2012 | Iron Kingdoms | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch | Dungeons & Dragons | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | |
| Spring 2013 | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch | Iron Kingdoms | Star Wars (FFG) | Dungeons & Dragons | Pathfinder | |
| Summer 2013 | Fate Core System | Iron Kingdoms | Dungeons & Dragons | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | |
| Fall 2013 | Iron Kingdoms | Dungeons & Dragons | Fate Core System | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | |
| Spring 2014 | Numenera | Fate Core System | Shadowrun | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | |
| Summer 2014 | Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch | Shadowrun | Star Wars (FFG) | Dungeons & Dragons | Pathfinder | D&D 5E launched. |
| Fall/Holiday 2014 | Fate | Numenera | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Spring 2015 | Iron Kingdoms | Shadowrun | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Fall 2015 | Fantasy Age | Dragon Age | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Spring 2016 | Fantasy/Dragon Age | Shadowrun | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Fall 2016 | Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition | Shadowrun | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Spring 2017 | Shadowrun | Adventures in Middle Earth | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Fall 2017 | Star Trek Adventures | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | Starfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | Starfinder released. |
| Spring 2018 | Genesys (FFG) | Star Wars (FFG) | Pathfinder | Starfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Fall 2018 | Vampire (White Wolf) | Starfinder (Paizo) | Star Wars (FFG) | Legend of the Five Rings (FFG) | Dungeons & Dragons | Pathfinder 2E announced. |
| Spring 2019 | Pathfinder | Vampire 5th Edition | Star Wars (FFG) | Starfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | |
| Summer 2019 | Star Wars (FFG) | Vampire 5th Edition | Shadowrun 6E | Pathfinder | Dungeons & Dragons | Pathfinder 2E released. |
**Green Ronin is a company name rather than a game, but this is what ICv2 reported.
Below may not be the clearest of graphs, but it maps the positions of games with 3 or more entries in the ICv2 charts over time.
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