Newzoo Report Says Free-to-Play Isn't Dying as Gacha RPGs Drive PC Playtime Growth
Newzoo's special focus report finds flat absolute F2P hours and a 92% rise in PC gacha playtime, even as the model's share of total playtime slips.
Newzoo published a special focus report concluding that free-to-play is not dying, according to gamesindustry.biz. The report found that F2P's share of playtime fell 2.9 percentage points between 2021 and 2025, to 29.3%, while absolute hours stayed broadly flat over the same period.
The supply side has thinned out. F2P live-service launches on PC and console averaged 21.3 titles between 2020 and 2022, then dropped to 14.7 between 2023 and 2025 — a 31% fall. Launches had already peaked at 36 titles in 2017, according to the report.
Concentration among the biggest F2P games has also eased. The top five F2P titles' combined revenue share fell from 79% in 2021 to 72% in 2025 on console, and from 68% to 65% on PC.
Gacha titles lift PC playtime
Newzoo counts 17 major gacha titles on PC and console in 2025, up from three in 2021. PC gacha playtime grew 92% between 2021 and 2025, adding 864 million hours, while console gacha added 85 million hours.
On PC, RPG's share of F2P playtime rose 5.3 percentage points to 14.3%, with Wuthering Waves, Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero adding a combined 1.1 billion hours by 2025, as Genshin Impact declined. On console, RPG share edged up from 10.0% to 10.3%.
In August's Newzoo Top 20 revenue charts, EA Sports Madden NFL 27 debuted at No. 2 on console, while House House's Big Walk ranked No. 3 on PC.
Quick answers
Is free-to-play declining, according to Newzoo?
Newzoo's report says F2P is not dying. Its share of playtime fell 2.9 percentage points between 2021 and 2025 to 29.3%, but absolute hours stayed broadly flat.
What is driving free-to-play growth on PC?
Gacha RPGs. Newzoo counts 17 major gacha titles on PC and console in 2025, up from three in 2021, and PC gacha playtime grew 92% between 2021 and 2025.
How many F2P live-service games launched recently?
F2P live-service launches on PC and console averaged 14.7 titles between 2023 and 2025, down from 21.3 between 2020 and 2022.