WRPG collapse is coming

I was looking on Steam at best sells of stuff tagged RPG and it's quite a shock. Between recent noticeable releases that made a commercial flop, some indie releases that fail make a selling surprise, the fake RPG, JRPG well that are JRPG, the massive amount of Roguelite that are just this and not RPG, the pointless Dungeon Master clones, the resulting picture is awful. That's still Skyrim and the Witcher 3 that are selling, it smells bad.

RPG fans, now it's clear they look like a very small minority of players, everybody will notice, from big industry to indie, and it sounds like dark future is coming for WRPG.

WRPGs have always been a niche product.

Perhaps but the hope that publishers decided kill many sub genres artificially, this finally cancelled by waves of crowd funding releases and non crowd funding releases, was opening the hope it would reveal a significant amount of RPG fans.

From 2013 to 2016 this hope could live, looks like now in 2017, there's few hope possible. I already noticed many players had expectation that couldn't fit RPG but only Roguelite, plus very few players welcoming a RPG not fully great but with good elements and fun to plays. This sells list is just more concrete and rather brutal.

So they was right to have killed those sub genres, it's not a matter of evil publishers, just evil players with crap tastes.

I think the problem your identifying is mainly that the definition for RPG has become so broad that it can include so many different types of games which don't necessarily appeal to the same types of gamers. And the problem with Steam's tag system is users are likely to tag any game with "RPG elements" with the RPG tag even though most of us fans of the genre wouldn't consider them real RPGs.

There's a very particular type of WRPG I like, which I usually simply call CRPG; a dialogue / choice heavy game with tactical combat. (Note that if you search for "CRPG" on steam you get a much smaller set of games that tends to exclude games with RPG elements). This is obviously a niche genre, but that's not to say there is no market for it. The Age of Decadence didn't sell a million copies but it apparently sold well enough that the developers were able to release a spinoff combat game (Dungeon Rats) and are working on their next full size CRPG ("Colony Ship RPG"). And many of the recently released crowdfunded RPGs have been received pretty well… Even if a lot of them aren't exactly the RPG I want personally, I have to admit they tend to be much better than a lot of the publisher funded RPGs.

This reality just makes it all the more important to support the few real CRPGs when they are released, especially the indie ones… Whether through crowdfunding or buying them early / at launch. I often see CRPG fans seemingly expecting perfection and then dismissing decent games; or nitpicking them to death. Expeditions: Viking is the latest example. Very good game, IMO, although it has some bugs and lacks polish, the developers are very responsive, listening to feedback and trying to make it better. I think anyone who likes CRPGs should get it yet I am sure there will be people who will wait until it's dirt cheap, all the while complaining that almost no one is making this type of WRPG anymore.

CRPG, WRPG, JRPG, strategy RPG, action RPG, action game with RPG elements, immersive simulation... whatever. I'll play it.

Zloth said:

CRPG, WRPG, JRPG, strategy RPG, action RPG, action game with RPG elements, immersive simulation… whatever. I'll play it.

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Yeah a good example, obviously you aren't fan of WRPG.

Dasale said:

Yeah a good example, obviously you aren't fan of WRPG.

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Why so? A person can like more than one thing in a category and still be considered a fan of something. I play lots of different genres, from plain FPSs like CSGO, mixtures of different genres like Deus Ex, to all different kinds of RPGs (from Path of Exile to Baldur's Gate). Yet, my favorite game of all time is Morrowind, and I get the most enjoyment from WRPGs, as you label them. Fallout - I'm a fan, Arcanum - fan, Pillars of Eternity - fan. Yes, I am a WRPG fan, even though I enjoy shooting stuff once in a while.

From his post Zloth is fan of video games nothing more.

What's a WRPG then? Are the likes of Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3 considered WRPG? If so, we have the same studios now that we've had for the last decade, it's just that they only release a game every few years.

Why is anyone even responding to this?

Maylander said:

Are the likes of Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3 considered WRPG?

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From European perspective, Witcher is an ERPG.

Unless the W stands for Witcher

*reads first posting* *checks personal release list for interesting upcomming indies* *takes a deep breath*

The Bard's Tale IV, Wasteland 3, Pillars of Eternity 2, somewhen during the next 10 years Underworld Ascendant, Elex, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Cyberpunk 2077, Divinity: Original Sin 2, Seven: The Days Long Gone, Call of Cthulhu, Vampyr, Black Geyser, Dungeons of Aledorn, Colony Ship, Acaratus, InSomnia, After Reset, Corven: Path of Redemption, Copper Dreams, The Lays of Althas: Sundered Order, The Meridian Shard, Ortus…

Don't just look for AAA and we'll be fine. And we can expect a few more announcements from well established developers like Obsidian, Bethesda and probably even Bioware around the E3, though I, personally, am losing faith in what's left of Bioware. Still, no need to panic yet. Steam isn't the best source for that kind of stuff, better check elsewhere, like the RPGWatch release list or the bigger gaming websites.

Dasale said:

RPG fans, now it's clear they look like a very small minority of players, everybody will notice, from big industry to indie, and it sounds like dark future is coming for WRPG.

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One more thing: WRPGs have always come and gone. I started playing on the computer in 1999, when BG2 was still new. A few years later, there was a flood of WRPGs. Morrowind, Gothic 2, ToEE, IWD2, Neverwinter Nights, Arx Fatalis, KotOR, you name it, I've played it. In 2006 I bought a PS2, because there were very few WRPGs that caught my eye, so I turned to JRPGs. Now there's a flood again.
Yes, there are many indie games among them, and plenty of kickstarters, but they're in the making, and that's what matters. Up and down, flood and low tide, that's what it's always been with WRPGs. I don't think that it'll ever change. even after the longest drought, there's always rain. Just be patient.

No no no he's right the WRPG collapse is right around the corner. As soon as Grimoire is released all other RPG developers will realize that RPG gaming perfection has been achieved and there's no point in continuing. Yep, just as soon as Grimoire is released.......

(Can you believe I typed that whole thing without laughing?)

Nephologist said:

(Can you believe I typed that whole thing without laughing?)

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Hardly. It's hilarious.

WRPG collapse is coming

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Coming? It started in 2006/2007 with consolisation i.e. Oblivion

WTF is a "WRPG"?

Some of my favorite games have been released in the last few years like Eador Genesis and Battle Brothers. Though they may not be pure rpg's I think they are fantastic. I have high hopes for Bards Tale 4 and Kingdom Come. I am happy atm and can remember back in the mid 90's where very few crpg's were released. Seems like the mid 2000's didn't have a lot released either.

It is time to get a new Elder Scrolls released. 2011 is too long ago. I have played 200 hours of modded Oblivion and Nehrim to tide me over.