Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present

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.

• 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%)​

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.

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.

*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.

​

 

[Ancalagon]

Tables are working again on the new site, so the above chart should be legible again.

I hope we see it extended to now. I mean we know that 5e is on top, but I'm curious to see how the other games are going.

 

[Morrus]

I hope we see it extended to now. I mean we know that 5e is on top, but I'm curious to see how the other games are going.

It is extended to now. ICv2 releases charts for each quarter later in the year. Spring 2019 was released a couple of weeks ago. I’ve kept it updated each quarter for 15 years now.

 

[Ancalagon]

It is extended to now. ICv2 releases charts for each quarter later in the year. Spring 2019 was released a couple of weeks ago. I’ve kept it updated each quarter for 15 years now.

I apologize, I wasn't clear, I meant the graph. The chart didn't display right at all on my phone, but now I can see it correctly on my computer, so it's all good. Thanks for this

 

[Morrus]

I apologize, I wasn't clear, I meant the graph. The chart didn't display right at all on my phone, but now I can see it correctly on my computer, so it's all good. Thanks for this

That's just a question of some kind volunteer whipping up a graphic!

 

[MerricB]

As much as I am enjoying 5th Edition, I think D&D will have a hard time regaining first place for the foreseeable future. None of this speaks to quality of either game, or its players. Unless/until WotC ramps up to full production, especially on the adventure side, they don't have the lineup.

Just requoting this from several years ago because it's absolutely fascinating how fifth edition actually rocketed to the top of the charts even with very few products each year!

Cheers!

 

[Scarecrown]

Why was 2015 such a huge growth point for retail sales? Across the industry gaming had a huge gain in 2015, is there any analysis as to why this happened?

 

[aramis erak]

Why was 2015 such a huge growth point for retail sales? Across the industry gaming had a huge gain in 2015, is there any analysis as to why this happened?

Analysis? not a serious one. Not enough data in public view.
Speculation abounds, however...

 

[Scarecrown]

Analysis? not a serious one. Not enough data in public view.
Speculation abounds, however...

So it could simply be improved reporting, or it could be some TTG renaissance, or even lizardman chemtrails taking our wimmin & stealing our jaaabs?

 

[MGibster]

So it could simply be improved reporting, or it could be some TTG renaissance, or even lizardman chemtrails taking our wimmin & stealing our jaaabs?

I hate these ridiculous conspiracy theories. Any sensible person will come to the logical conclusion that it's Martians coming to steal our women.

This information is based on a survey rather than sales data. At least the 1st and 2nd place games in each quarter/year lines up with what I vaguely remember. I was a little surprsied to find both GURPS and Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2nd edition on the list. I bought both, but only played GURPS once and never got around to playing WHRP. Which reminds me, I have a bunch of WHFRPG books that are in near mint condition I need to so something with.

Oh yeah, and thanks to @Morrus for posthing this information. It's always nice to get a historical perspective.

 

[aramis erak]

So it could simply be improved reporting, or it could be some TTG renaissance, or even lizardman chemtrails taking our wimmin & stealing our jaaabs?

Not improved reporting, per se. More correctly, reporting goes public from an industry source.
Also note: ICV2 doesn't release the hard numbers to the public. We only are given an industry overall growth and the relative positioning of the top 5 lists.

The VTT reports are a slice of the industry info as well, but are not sales numbers. That the rankings of play on the two reporting VTTs look similar to the ICV2 sales reports indicates that continued sales and play do correlate, One of those two reports actual numbers... And they're surprisingly large to me before the pandemic.

TSR never released hard sales numbers. But they did share some with other designers. They also estimated a million D&D players worldwide in 1992 or so. WotC's profit numbers were in the hasbro annual reports, but covered both D&D and Magic.

GDW didn't, but Marc Miller dba Far Future Enterprises released the Traveller lifetime sales circa 1998... over 170,000 sales of the CT core rules to that date, not counting the reprint series (in which series they appeared.) FFE has sold thousands more copies in PDF since. Other versions add another 100,000 or so. So, to 1998, we know the traveller lines is around 300,000 core rules sets.

Looking at GDW's numbers gives credence to the TSR Estimates; IME, about 1/3 of Traveller players had rulesets.
But GDW numbers don't include the Judges Guild semi-core Traveller's Logbook, which includes character gen (Bk1 & bk 4), ship operations, trade and commerce tables, expansions to char gen (background/family mods, mods to atts by ho,eworld gravity and TL), alternate damage tables by standard ship type.