Are Education RPGs Growing More Popular?

RPGS – role-playing games – are currently one of the most popular genres in the gaming industry. According to the most recent statistics, the RPG genre accounts for around 11.3% of mobile game ad creatives, with markets including Japan, Hong Kong, and North America seeing the strongest growth in the last five years. 

This shouldn’t be a surprise. If you’re invested in the gaming landscape, you’ll know that RPGs have a stronghold, with some of the most popular games this year including Baldur’s Gate 3, Final Fantasy 14, and Elden Ring – all of which are fantasy-oriented RPGs that focus primarily on storytelling and gameplay immersion. 

Education RPGs

What might be a surprise, however, are the offshoots that have sprung up from the genre. Education RPGs, for instance, have grown significantly more popular over the last few years.

These are games for kids that allow them to practice standards-aligned skills including math and English, all while immersed in a make-believe world where they need to answer questions correctly to level up. 

Prodigy is a great example, here. With ‘Prodigy Math’, kids are allowed to dive into a multiplayer fantasy RPG, where answering skill-based questions helps them to make their character – or wizard – more powerful.

When it comes to how many people play Prodigy, there are currently over 150 million users worldwide, and with students reporting an average of twice the level of math enjoyment in just a few months, it’s likely more parents and teachers will be introducing it to their kids very soon.

The Benefits of Education RPGs

Staying with Prodigy, in one school district, it’s been reported that students mastered an average of 68% more math skills per month after playing the game.

This is the most important thing to recognize. While some might question the merit of ‘playing a game’ to develop math skills, it’s been proven that RPGs centered around education work, and there’s a very simple reason for this: kids like playing games! 

A common technique used by many teachers and parents – when helping students with a variety of subjects, not just math – is turning the lesson into more of a game. This subsequently works to make that lesson more of an interactive, fun experience, helping kids to stay engaged and feel more motivated to improve their skills.

By framing math problems as part of an exciting adventure, RPGs can tap into the player’s intrinsic motivation, making math a necessary tool to progress through the game, rather than a chore.

As well as this, many RPGs often adapt to the player’s skill level, offering tailored challenges that keep students in the zone of proximal development.

This ensures the tasks are never too easy nor too difficult, which ultimately fosters confidence and reduces the fear of failure – which is a damaging trait affecting multiple classrooms across the country.

Essentially, blending education with game mechanics, RPGs are making complex subjects far more accessible and appealing for kids, helping them to build their skills in a way that is enjoyable rather than intimidating.