Free-to-Play Gaming Trends Shifted From 2021 to 2025
Data shows that while overall playtime remained stable, gacha RPGs significantly gained ground on PC platforms.
Updated on Oct. 5, 2026 in Gaming
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Between 2021 and 2025, the share of playtime for free-to-play titles dipped by 2.9 percentage points to 29.3%. Despite this, gacha RPGs emerged as a major driver of engagement, specifically on PC platforms.
Why it matters
Rising development costs, market saturation from established titles, and increased financial risks have made it harder for new live-service games to find success. Consequently, the industry saw a 31% drop in the average number of new live-service releases annually between the 2020-2022 and 2023-2025 periods.
PC gacha playtime grew 92% between 2021 and 2025, with RPG free-to-play playtime share on PC rising 5.3 percentage points to 14.3%. Revenue concentration in top titles also softened, with console share falling from 79% to 72%.
The players
Game Performance Monitor
This is a specialized market analytics tool used to track and measure player engagement and revenue metrics across diverse gaming ecosystems.
The details
Engagement and revenue data were collected across 37 international markets, excluding China, India, and mobile gaming platforms. The report indicates that players are increasingly concentrating their time in specific RPG experiences, moving between titles within the gacha category.
Timeline
F2P live-service launches peaked at 36 titles in 2017.
The annual average of live-service titles was 21.3 from 2020 to 2022.
The measured period for playtime and revenue shifts occurred from 2021 to 2025.
The annual average of new live-service titles fell to 14.7 from 2023 to 2025.
New releases entered the top 20 revenue charts in August 2026.
Culture Shift
This transition mirrors the historical decline in new live-service game releases from 2020 to 2025, which reflects a broader industry move toward safer, proven monetization models. The rise of gacha gaming indicates a shift in player preference toward more curated, service-heavy RPG experiences over generalized free-to-play offerings.
Players may notice fewer new live-service titles launching as developers focus resources on established, high-performing games. This consolidation often leads to a more stable experience in popular titles but may limit the variety of new, free-to-play options available in the market.
The takeaway
Gamers are increasingly gravitating toward high-engagement gacha RPGs as the overall volume of new live-service content contracts. Consumers should be aware that the landscape is becoming more concentrated, with long-term support for a few major titles taking priority over experimental new releases.
Further reading
For more on the evolving habits of international players, explore our Gaming section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by GamesIndustry.
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Do you find yourself spending more time playing free-to-play video games than in previous years?
