When we looked at the unfiltered best-sellers on Fantasy Grounds earlier this week, the results were dominated by the industry titans: Dungeons & Dragons core rules and cosmetic dice packs.
While those numbers show where the bulk of the market’s money is spent, they often obscure where the hobby’s heart is beating. To get a clearer picture of what else is thriving on the virtual tabletop, Fantasy Grounds has kindly provided Geek Native with a second, curated cut of the data – stripping away D&D and dice to reveal the indie darlings, modern classics, and crunchy systems that defined 2025.
- Shadowdark RPG
- Science Fiction Companion (SWADE)
- Pathfinder 2 RPG – Player Core
- Pathfinder 2 RPG – Player Core 2
- Pathfinder 2 RPG – Monster Core
- Pathfinder 2 RPG – NPC Core
- Pathfinder 2 RPG – GM Core
- Pathfinder 2 RPG – War of Immortals
- Starfinder 2 RPG – Starfinder Player Core
- Call of Cthulhu 7E (Ruleset)
Seeing Shadowdark RPG claim the top spot on this list is a significant statement about how we use virtual tabletops in 2025. Fantasy Grounds is often praised for its robust automation, making it an ideal engine for handling the heavy lifting of complex, modifier-rich systems like Pathfinder or Savage Worlds. Yet, Shadowdark is famously streamlined and rules-light. Its success here challenges the assumption that VTTs are only for games that require a calculator.
If Shadowdark represents the agile newcomer, Paizo represents the undeniable heavy artillery of the non-D&D market. Commanding a staggering seven out of ten spots, the combined presence of Pathfinder 2 and Starfinder 2 offers definitive proof that the ‘Remaster’ project was a commercial triumph. Moving away from the OGL to their own open licence was a significant gamble, but the data suggests it has paid off handsomely. Players haven’t simply clung to their legacy rulebooks; they have actively invested in the new Player Core, GM Core, and Monster Core modules in droves.
This level of buy-in signals a healthy, active ecosystem willing to put its money where its mouth is to support the publisher’s new direction.
Finally, this top ten underscores Fantasy Grounds’ reputation as the premier engine for ‘crunchy’ mechanics. Titles like Savage Worlds (SWADE) and the Pathfinder family thrive here precisely because the platform automates the heavy lifting, from shuffling initiative cards to tracking complex modifier stacks, allowing groups to run intricate systems without getting bogged down in the arithmetic.
Yet the presence of Call of Cthulhu 7E at the end of the list reminds us that the platform isn’t just a calculator; it is a library of diverse experiences. As the industry’s immovable object, Cthulhu remains the definitive alternative to the ‘zero-to-hero’ fantasy loop, proving that whether players want deep tactical automation or atmospheric investigation, there is a thriving ecosystem beyond the dragon’s shadow.
A thank you to Fantasy Grounds for sharing their data; you’ve been transparent and helped this indie TTRPG blog try something a bit different.
