Fantasy Grounds Stats Show Massive Pandemic Bump

Fantasy Grounds has shared its usage stats going back over the last year. The recent pandemic has shown a massive boost of 150% in virtual tabletop game sessions!

Here's a look at the game system distribution. "MoreCore" and "CoreRPG" are generic ruleset modules which can be used for many games. D&D 5E leads the pack as usual, at a 63% share, followed by Pathfinder with a combined total of 13% divided between 1E and 2E.

Here are the stats for this time last year. It's actually a drop in share for D&D (from 69% to 63%), which was also borne out by Roll20's figures earlier this year, where D&D dropped from 52% to 48%. (That doesn't mean less people are playing D&D of course). Pathfinder is harder to compare -- 2E was released halfway through the period measured, so a large bulk of it is 1E. We'll have a clearer picture on that towards the end of the year, when 2E has been out for a year.

 

[pogre]

Great news for Doug & the gang. I would not have been surprised by an even bigger bump. Although I pretty much just run my table these days using video conferencing like an in-person game - I know this has been a labor of love for those guys. Hope it is a lasting windfall for them.*

*Not wishing for an extended pandemic at all - just hoping they get to keep most of their business bump.

 

[Reynard]

I am a regular FG user and I have increased my usage by about 150% (added a second weekly game and have been running one shots and such every couple of weeks). I am curious how much of the uptick is new users.

 

[BryonD]

My every 2 week game is now running weekly. We just use Zoom, so we are not reflected here.
But I bet we are not the only group playing more frequently. So there is a double benefit.

And I do certainly hope they gain added traction and this leads to sustained growth. Even though I still prefer FTF, more options and advancing tools is just nothing be goodness.

 

[Morrus]

I am a regular FG user and I have increased my usage by about 150% (added a second weekly game and have been running one shots and such every couple of weeks). I am curious how much of the uptick is new users.

Good point. If it were current users using the service more rather than new customers, it would paint a different picture.

 

[SAVeira]

Well I am sure that it will only go high as time goes on. I am moving the game I DM at my FLGS to Fantasy Grounds starting this Saturday. Had to delay while everyone got systems setup. Also know a couple guys at work would like me to run some for them too.

 

[Reynard]

I am sure there are lots of new users. I would guess most existing users remain steady. I don't know how common my situation is: I had a weekly IRL gamer and a weekly FG game. I was not running the IRL game (but we trade DMing in that group) but when we had to go into lock down I offered to start running the game with characters that had finished Out of the Abyss just to fill the "couple weeks" of stay-home. Lol. Anyway, I don't know how many people play weekly, let alone have multiple weekly games.

 

[smiteworks]

Thanks pogre. I still have fond memories of playing in your garage when I first moved to Illinois and having a great time with your massive collection of painted miniatures and scenery. Good times.

Moving out of Illinois was the reason I started looking into digital options. We view Fantasy Grounds as another great option to add to your local gaming options. It's a way to squeeze in more gaming, not as a replacement. We certainly hope this pandemic passes as quickly as possible.

 

[smiteworks]

BTW, I just got a notice that I've been on ENWorld for a decade. Wow, time flies.

 

[Morrus]

BTW, I just got a notice that I've been on ENWorld for a decade. Wow, time flies.

N00b!