The 7 RPG player personas
What makes RPG players tick and how to create a winning product strategy for RPG games
Liquid & Grit undertook this empirical study in collaboration with Kinrate Analytics to collect and analyze survey data from 1,415 mobile role-playing game (RPG) players in the U.S. The results produced seven RPG player personas with distinct values, gameplay preferences, spending habits, and reasons for returning to or abandoning a game.
These personas give product teams actionable insights for every step of the player life cycle, from acquisition and engagement to retention and monetization.
General RPG Players
Before diving into the seven personas, let’s unpack the key general trends among RPG players that we identified in our study:
- On the whole, RPG players are most motivated by experiences of exploration and discovery, including story and character progression. They strongly prefer strategic challenges, followed by emotional challenges and puzzles. In terms of gameplay, they are drawn to exploration, combat, and resource management.
- High production value is the most important factor for retention: players want compelling stories and missions, likeable characters, and decisions that impact the game. Progression — i.e., leveling, equipment collection, and unlockable content — is the next most significant driver of continued play.
- Players are most likely to make purchases to support F2P games that they like or in order to unlock content, and they are most likely to stop playing due to excessive monetization or advertisements.
- A typical RPG player watches streaming services (e.g., Netflix, Amazon, HBO) 1–2 hours daily. Many RPG players also watch YouTube videos 1–2 hours each day and only 5% of the respondents said that they do not consume any YouTube content on a typical day.
5. RPG players enjoy Semi-Realistic visual styles more than the other options. Both Japanese/Asian art styles had the next highest mean preference values, together with Stylized Mature.
The 7 RPG player personas
Implement these insights into your product strategy to broaden your RPG game’s appeal and create engaging experiences for your players.
Andrew Achievement likes completing single-player tasks and overcoming challenges. His favorite subgenre are puzzle RPGs with innovative challenges and entertaining mini-games. He spends money to advance his progress.
Chloe Casual prefers single-player puzzle RPGs with casual mechanics. She likes customizing characters and spaces with optional cosmetics. She spends primarily for personalization and to access special events.
Felicia Fiction seeks immersion through compelling single-player stories and strong aesthetics. She likes turn-based or action RPGs with customization, meaningful choices, and emotionally difficult challenges. She is most likely to spend money to personalize her experience.
Ethan Epic is an all-around hardcore gamer who thrives on difficult challenges. He likes both story-driven solo experiences and multiplayer competitions. Ethan plays the widest range of RPG subgenres, including turn-based RPGs, action RPGs, puzzle RPGs, and MMORPGs. He strives to optimize his play with out-of-the-box tactics and strategies. He spends primarily to support the F2P games he likes.
Caleb Competition is primarily interested in multiplayer competitions, clubs, social status, and hardcore gaming. He prefers MMORPGs with action gameplay and difficult challenges. As a result of his competitiveness, he makes purchases to be the best.
Dean Desktop turns to mobile for convenient, short bursts of play. As a result, he is the lowest spending player persona and is primarily interested in story-driven single-player experiences. He likes action, survival, and turn-based RPGs with meaningful choices and active combat.
Steven Social is driven by his interactions with other players, including both collaborative and competitive activities. He is the highest spending player persona and prefers MMORPGs or multiplayer fighting RPGs. His favorite gameplay mechanics are trading, resource collection, and building. He spends money to show off to others, play with his friends, and be the best.
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To read the full report, reach out to use directly at brett.nowak@liquidandgrit.com
