As we approach the end of the year Geek Native has been sifting through data from DriveThruRPG to see which games sold the best from which genre. As it happens, games can belong to many genres, and we’re starting to see some overlaps.
In this chapter, we look at games tagged ‘modern’ by the publisher or author.
Best selling modern genre RPGs of the year
- Genesys Core Rulebook, by Fantasy Flight Games.
- V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary, by Onyx Path Publishing.
- Shadowrun: Kill Code (Advanced Matrix Rules), by Catalyst Game Labs.
- Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition, by Onyx Path Publishing.
- Shadowrun: Street Lethal (Advanced Combat Rules), by Catalyst Game Labs.
- Shadowrun: Fifth Edition Core Rulebook (Master Index Edition), by Catalyst Game Labs.
- Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition, by Onyx Path Publishing.
- Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition, by Onyx Path Publishing.
- Chronicles of Darkness, by Onyx Path Publishing.
- Mage the Awakening 2nd Edition, by Onyx Path Publishing.
Genesys is the best selling modern genre RPG
Fantasy Flight Games have done it again. Genesys already appears in our list of best selling superhero RPGs. That makes sense, right? Most superhero games are set in the modern genre.
Genesys itself is designed to be a set of rules that can be used in many genres; from weird wars to steampunk.
The question might be; why isn’t the overlap between the modern genre and superheroes greater? It depends on two things; on how publishers tag their games in DrivethruRPG’s system and sale volumes in each category.
Geek Native was able to ask Sam Gregor-Stewart, Fantasy Flight Games’ RPG Manager, some questions about Genesys and we asked what it took to make a good genre product.
What do gamers tend to want from a ‘genre’ product?
If I understand your question right, I think that when it comes to genre products, a lot of gamers want products that evoke an expected set of emotions, both through the setting and information presented, and through the mechanics. This is something we’ve tried to enable in Genesys through the use of tones. Tones, in Genesys, are basically a set of guidelines coupled with a few evocative mechanics that create the feel of a specific genre of stories. So the Horror tone can turn an adventure into a horror story, the Drama/Romance tone can emphasize character-interaction adventures, and the Superhero tone can turn your game into larger-than-life heroes fighting supervillains. The best part of all of these is that they’re designed to work with any setting. After all, you can have horror stories set in a fantasy gothic castle just as well as the dark, gritty streets of a modern day city.
How much should you pay for a best selling modern genre RPG?
The average price of a top 10 best selling modern RPG on DriveThruRPG is $30.49. That makes Genesys look like a good deal as it comes in at only $19.95.
Creative Commons credit: The Broken Soldiers by Ken Blackwell.
