Why do fps games dominate so much in this era?

[Vampiregenesis]

I was checking some "most played/popular game" lists because someone mentioned that wow was dying but even though wow is not dying, it's not close to the top either. The top of multiplayer game lists are completely dominated by fps games of all kinds. There is the rare exception of LoL which isn't even an MMORPG. MMORPG games have fallen apart with wow still being the king and poe being competent. It's kinda funny though that wow can't even compete with the "bottom" of the top fps games. It feels as if everyone can launch a shooter game and profit a ton.

What's going on? why is this genre so popular? I don't dislike it personally but I prefer RPG.

Old Blizzard wouldn't stay apathetic to this situation, they have to do something about consoles and mobiles, they must join this market and adjust their game.

[Djuntas]

Who knows...I think its just down to people enjoying the genre...Think of non-MP FPS games like quake, doom etc that started that and then come the MP games later on.

I suck at FPS games and dont really enjoy it, but I did think it would be fun to play more PUBG if I had a friend that wanted to.

Anyway it sucks yes...to much money in 1 genre now.

[XDurionX]

FPS are very accessible. You don't need to know any rules, just click enemies til they fall over.

[Wramp]

FPS are very accessible. You don't need to know any rules, just click enemies til they fall over.

and also, probably the genre of games most cheats are made for, so theres that too

[JustaWarlock]

Generally, the current millennial generation is very ADHD and need the fast paced action of GOGOGO fps games to hold their attention span.

[Airlick]

Generally, the current millennial generation is very ADHD and need the fast paced action of GOGOGO fps games to hold their attention span.

FPS games have always been massively popular. You had Quakes, Doom, UT, Serious Sam, Duke Nukem and what not - and those games were actually faster paced than modern FPS games. They were always more popular than MMORPGs, strategies and RPGs. Only the scales are different than they used to be.

[willtron]

Its a very simple competitive format

[McNeil]

Shooters are very easy to learn compared to most other genres. They can have a fun and immersive campaign (sadly its not something that gets done a lot), and the multiplayer is just dropping in and out like you do with most content in WoW these days. Also the skill ceiling can get very high, and there is just something satisfying about outsmarting and then kill your opponent. RTS also used to be popular but they are a lot more difficult to get into and to even get good at.

[Schmilblick]

Simple gameplay and short games.

[VinceVega]

I was checking some "most played/popular game" lists because someone mentioned that wow was dying but even though wow is not dying, it's not close to the top either. The top of multiplayer game lists are completely dominated by fps games of all kinds. There is the rare exception of LoL which isn't even an MMORPG. MMORPG games have fallen apart with wow still being the king and poe being competent. It's kinda funny though that wow can't even compete with the "bottom" of the top fps games. It feels as if everyone can launch a shooter game and profit a ton.

What's going on? why is this genre so popular? I don't dislike it personally but I prefer RPG.

Old Blizzard wouldn't stay apathetic to this situation, they have to do something about consoles and mobiles, they must join this market and adjust their game.

Quick satisfaction.
You don't have to put in much time get easy results early on. (hard to master though)
Wow, Lol, DOta and Cohorts need you to invest time before you are even able to get a grasp on the game.

My sister started wow and wanted to heal. She stopped immediatly again because there was nothing in the game telling her how much and how fast you actually have to be to heal even early dungeons. I played hots and was rather good. Started lol and felt like a total noob. Nothing in this game tells you what you are actually supposed to do.
FPS: Join game and shoot. Bam. Done.

[Heathy]

I think FPS really got me into PC gaming because for me, the first fps I played was wolf3d, then doom and duke3d, and in 1998/1999 we had half-life which was extremely popular, ran on a potato, and was probably the best game at that time. I must have played 100s of hours of all of the best half-life mods, everything from, firearms, to NS, the specialists I remember playing a lot. then ofc counter strike, but I did eventually move from CS to Diablo 2 which sucked up a lot of my time.

I can tell you now that FPS are popular right now, probably because of escape from tarkov, I bought standard around version 0.6 when it was a desync cluster fuck, but it has improved since then and in the last couple of years it has really stood out as pushing the boundary in what a multiplayer survival shooter can be. in fact its that good, 8/10 of the ppl I know that play it bought EOD. EFT has dominated twitch in recent times and for a game that has practically zero marketing, is still technically an alpha, its doing a real good job of marketing itself through word of mouth alone. I still think, like star citizen it has a way to go, probably not as far as SC. but it could always be better.

out of all of the first person shooters i've played there aren't many that have the level of control and gunplay that tarkov has, actually it is the only game. for the most part it broke other shooters for me. I can't really enjoy other shooters after playing tarkov for this long. I wouldn't really call tarkov mainstream though, while it has reached the mainstream through twitch, its brutal as hell and very unforgiving. while still having a relatively steep learning curve. ppl in here are harping on first person shooters for being easy to learn, tarkov says hello. at some point this game will be comparable to eve online in complexity or nuance. its getting there.

[Lollis]

Easy to play, easy to make, easy to cash in on.

EA and Activision make new Battlefield and Call of Duty games every other year because they are very bankable with their fast paced matches that anyone can pickup and get into.

Compare it to RTS games which used to be king in the 90s and early 2000s; they are often slow and difficult to get into for new players.
Hardly anyone makes RTS games any more simply because they don't have the same marketability and the companies that do make RTS games are mostly doing 4Xs which is just another slow paced genre that you have to have knowledge of before you are good.

[Cracked]

FPS being most mainstream genre is nothing new. So the "in this era" doesn't really hold water. There was a brief moment right before the explosion of broadband where strategy games were arguably bigger, but as soon as reasonable MP gameplay was available, FPS games took it straight back.

Why does it matter? I understand the want to have your niche as mainstream, since it ensures more and higher quality games, but it is what it is.

[Kumorii]

FPS has always been dominating...
For a while, not long a go, it was open world adventure games that dominated. They are still prevalent nowadays.

Other genres just go bigger and smaller at times, but never really dominated the scene.

[zealo]

Easy to play, easy to make, easy to cash in on.

EA and Activision make new Battlefield and Call of Duty games every other year because they are very bankable with their fast paced matches that anyone can pickup and get into.

Compare it to RTS games which used to be king in the 90s and early 2000s; they are often slow and difficult to get into for new players.
Hardly anyone makes RTS games any more simply because they don't have the same marketability and the companies that do make RTS games are mostly doing 4Xs which is just another slow paced genre that you have to have knowledge of before you are good.

It wasn't FPS games that did RTS in, it was mobas like LoL and Dota2.

Same basic isometric viewing perspective and competitive gameplay design, just with a hell of a lot lower entry barrier on mechanical skill such as APM to reach at least somewhat of a competent skill level.

[Qnubi]

To me, FPS games are to video games what rummy or yahtzee is to boardgames. Everyone can understand and play them. I recently got back into CS:GO and it's just a damn good game regardless of your skill level. If you mute your team and avoid the toxicity it's just perfect.

[Krothar]

FPS has always dominated. As others have said they're easy to pick up and easy to explain to a friend or family.

Even during WoW's golden era when it seemed like the next "WoW killer" was coming out every few months, FPS was still one of the most played genres of games.

[The Butt Witch]

FPS games are also easy to make.

[Nnyco]

Generally, the current millennial generation is very ADHD and need the fast paced action of GOGOGO fps games to hold their attention span.

Is that why the gerne was extremly popular before millenials were out of their diapers?

[Donald Hellscream]

I am guessing the fast paced instant gratification and general ease of access makes for a very addictive and easy genre to get into.