The free-to-play (F2P) market is a growing genre of games that use microtransactions for revenue rather than charging a one time, fixed game price or a recurring subscription fee. For some time, MMOs have dominated this market thanks to their huge audience and wide variety of cosmetic and quality of life items, but Ed Zhao, an analyst for Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR), says that MOBA games like League of Legends and Dota 2 may soon dethrone MMOs as the highest earning F2P genre.

“MOBAs have experienced immense success in conjunction with the explosive rise of F2P in Western audiences,” Zhao wrote. “Perhaps more than any other genre, MOBAs can take advantage of a large, competitive audience while monetizing through champion-specific microtransactions.”

He added, “While the biggest revenue driver in F2P has historically been the MMORPG, EEDAR predicts that by year’s end, MOBA titles will reach $501 million annually in North America and account for the greatest percentage of F2P dollars.”

According to Zhao, MOBAs have several features that give them an advantage over some F2P game types, such as first-person shooters. While F2P shooters such as Team Fortress 2 allow players to buy cosmetic status symbol items such as hats, the players cannot actually see the items on their characters, which makes them less likely to spend real money on them. MOBAs, on the other hand, take advantage of a third-person perspective that lets players see all of the cosmetics they have purchased.

Zhao also points to MOBA players’ tendency to become very attached to a particular champion, which can lead to “deeper engagement over time.” Because players focus on one character, Zhao says, they are more likely to spend money on them. Meanwhile, MMORPG players are often known to play multiple characters to add longevity to the games. Some MMOs, such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, charge players more to share purchased items or perks across multiple characters, making some players less likely to buy them.

In EEDAR’s report on “Deconstructing the PC MOBA Market 2015,” analysts showed that the F2P revenue from MOBAs reached over $406 million in 2014, nearly double the amount of the previous year. By comparison, EEDAR reports that MMORPGs earned $475 million, and shooters earned only $191 million in F2P revenue.

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