The world of gaming is constantly evolving without boundaries, thanks to innovations and technological advancements.
While some games with immersive features and environments captivate players for long hours, certain game genres stand out as favorites among gamers worldwide.
Whether you’re new to the gaming world or a seasoned player, this article will help you find out the top 7 most popular game genres in 2025.
Top 7 Video Game Genres in 2025
In 2024, we’ve witnessed a lot of unpredictable changes in the gaming industry as a whole.
Numerous game titles and genres have risen to the top of dominance. Thus, we’ve summed up this list of the most popular video game genres in 2025 for you to explore.
1. Action Games
At the beginning of the list are action games, which are regarded as the most popular genre in the universe.
This genre involves various subgenres, which are:
- Shooters: These games focus entirely on defeating enemies using available weapons, typically through gunplay or combat.
- Fighting Games: These games often include combat between two or more characters.
- Platformers: These games are about navigating tricky levels, jumping over obstacles, and solving puzzles.
These games typically emphasize physical challenges, which require players to collect objects and leverage tools and weapons as well as natural skills to defeat enemies or overcome obstacles.
These appealing journeys can add a sense of accomplishment to players. From the moment they step into the shoes of heroes, explore, solve problems, and navigate precise execution to gain the final triumph.
Also, thanks to technology, advanced graphics engines create more stunning visual effects while physic engines contribute to the dynamic interactions between players and gameplay.
2. Adventure Games
In adventure games, players often act as protagonists on a quest to overcome challenges and solve problems in an interactive story.
Since these games often emphasize narrative-driven experiences, most games are designed for a single player.
The appealing charm of adventure games might lie in their storytelling and world-building. They’re crafted to keep you engaged and entertained in worlds filled with wonder and excitement.
This, by far, not only contributes to the general joyful feeling of games but also captivates players in the secret worlds.
In 2025, there are some standout adventure games that draw the attention of gamers, such as Nightingale, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Star Wars Outlaws.
3. Role-Playing Games (RPGs)
Role-playing games are one of the most popular game types that consist of storylines, character development, and gameplay systems.
For easy understanding, you will follow the rich storylines in the roles of characters in the fictional setting. Along the way, you will develop your character’s skills and abilities to become stronger and move forward with all challenges ahead.
In these games of this roleplay genre, developers often create expansive worlds where every decision can significantly impact the surrounding environment and behavior of NPC (non-player characters).
There are two main types of RPGs:
- Western RPGs (WRPGs)
- Japanese RPGs (JRPGs)
WRPGs offer players more chances to explore the world and make decisions that actually affect the outcome. JRPGs, on the other hand, are more about structured narratives that focus on character development.
Despite all the differences between these two subgenres, both game types help people connect and build community.
Players can engage in forums, social media, and communities to find like-minded people and share their interests, strategies, and tips.
4. Strategy Games
Among other game genres in 2025, the stratey game genre is a popular choice for many video game publishers.
This genre is all about planning, managing resources, and decision-making. In this game genre, players must use a lot of tactics and strategic actions to defeat opponents and gain the final victory.
There are two types in this strategic game genre:
- Real-time strategy (RTS)
- Turn-based strategy (TBS)
RTS games, like StarCraft, require the ability to think quickly and make constant decisions in fast-paced environments. As a result, success in this type of game is often determined by how fast you can adapt to the changing situation on the battlefield.
On the other hand, TBS games, such as Civilization, allow players to take turns when making moves and decisions. Thus, this game emphasizes more on your long-term planning to manage resources and expand your territory rather than quick actions.
As these strategic games require a blend of skill, strategic thinking, and adaptability, they’ve become a popular choice for competitive gaming.
Every year, you can see many tournaments and leagues worldwide that bring together professional players from all over the world to compete.
5. Sports Games
In the world of game publishing, the sports games genre replicates various types of sports, ranging from team-based sports like football to individual sports like tennis or golf.
They often come in two different styles, which are realistic simulations and casual arcade-style fun.
In realistic games, you can experience more detailed graphics and lifelike gameplay, like you’re actually playing your favorite sport.
Arcade-style games, on the other hand, are more about having fun. They often simulate the sport with exaggerated physics and wild moves that make the game even more exciting to play.
Sports strategy and team management make this genre appealing to sports gamers.
There are various competitive gaming leagues and tournaments that allow players to experience their favorite sports virtually while competing for big prizes.
Some prominent sports games that should be mentioned are FIFA, Madden NFL, and NBA 2K.
6. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)
MOBA is a subgenre of strategy games that include two teams fighting against each other on a battlefield.
At the beginning of these games, each player will handle a single character with different abilities and roles, with the main goal of collaborating to defeat the opponent’s structure.
However, in some games, the objective might change to defeat all the opposing team players.
With the main objective of drafting the opposite side, these MOBA games include a unique blend of action, strategy, role-playing, and cooperation.
Every member of a team needs to work closely with each other to develop strategies and perform cooperative attacks to gain an advantage over their opponents.
Nowadays, the popularity of MOBAs has increased significantly in the gaming world.
Based on their features of fast-paced action with strategic teamwork, they’ve become a staple in eSports tournaments, where players come in two teams to defeat each other to gain prizes.
Some notable games are League of Legends and Dota 2.
7. Battle Royale
Battle Royale games have taken the gaming world by storm, becoming a phenomenon in recent years, with various indie games and AAA games released every year.
These games typically revolve around survival and adaptability, where dozens of players are put into a shrinking play area.
Each player has to start with minimal equipment and must search for weapons, resources, and equipment along the way. The ultimate goal is to eliminate all other players and be the last survivor in the game.
In other words, survival is indicated to be key in Battle Royale games. Players have to navigate the shrinking play area, avoid deadly obstacles, and defeat opponents to be the last person standing.
If you ask about famous titles that have a profound cultural impact on the gaming community, we can’t go further without mentioning Fortnite and PUBG.
To be more specific, Fortnite has become a social hub for players to hang out with its colorful graphics and fun gameplay.
It has actually become a cultural phenomenon, with more than 125 million players engaged in the game in less than one year, bringing in up to $9 billion in gross revenue for game developers until 2019.
PUBG also made a big splash as it won various Game of the Year prizes and set seven Guinness World Records.
This is obviously not the lucky one, as people love this game for its realistic look and exciting gameplay.
Conclusion
And that’s our top pick for the best 7 video game genres in 2025!
From action games to strategic simulations, we’re sure you’ve found your desired genre in our list above.
Since each genre holds its distinctive appeal, you should try to immerse yourself in the captivating narratives and intricate worlds.
Looking ahead to the near future, we are expected to see the emergence of new genres and gameplay experiences. With technologies taking the center, the more dynamic game worlds are just a short distance from us.