Overview

This document is a reference taxonomy of video game genres and subgenres. It exists to scope and categorize the genre-pack work tracked in issue #28, and to position the ten prioritized genres within the broader space of games.

This taxonomy is non-normative. Unlike a genre spec.adoc, it neither extends nor constrains the core UGAS specification. It is a map, not a contract: it informs which genre packs we build and how they relate, but it defines no Attributes, Tags, Abilities, or Effects. For the genre-pack conventions and authoring rules, see the genre packs guide.

How genres are classified

Genres here are organized primarily by gameplay mechanics — what the player does — rather than by setting, theme, art style, or narrative. A medieval-fantasy game and a sci-fi game can share the same genre if they share the same core loop.

Two consequences worth keeping in mind:

  • Genres overlap. Real games routinely blend families (e.g. an action-RPG, a survival-crafting shooter). A title can legitimately sit under more than one family.

  • Some labels are modifiers, not families. Properties like open-world, massively multiplayer, roguelike, and horror compose across families rather than being families of their own. They are listed separately under Cross-cutting modifiers.

Genre families

Action

Reflex- and timing-driven gameplay; the core challenge is execution in real time.

  • Platformer (2D, 3D, puzzle-platformer)

  • Shooter (emphasized as its own UGAS pack — see UGAS pack prioritization)

    • First-person shooter (FPS)

    • Third-person shooter (TPS)

    • Hero shooter

    • Light-gun shooter

    • Shoot 'em up (shmup)

    • Battle royale

  • Fighting / Combat (see Combat)

  • Beat 'em up

  • Hack-and-slash

  • Stealth

  • Rhythm / music

  • Survival-action

Action-Adventure

Combines action mechanics with exploration, puzzle-solving, and progression.

  • Survival horror

  • Metroidvania

  • Open-world action-adventure

Combat

Direct, skill-based confrontation between characters — the dueling/fighting core that the Combat pack targets. Closely related to the fighting and beat-'em-up subgenres under Action, but treated as its own pack because its mechanics (movesets, blocking, combos, hit trades) differ markedly from projectile-centric shooters.

  • Fighting (1v1, arena)

  • Beat 'em up / brawler

  • Hack-and-slash

  • Sports-based fighting

Adventure

Narrative, exploration, and puzzle-solving with little or no reflex-based action.

  • Text adventure / interactive fiction

  • Graphic / point-and-click adventure

  • Visual novel

  • Interactive movie

  • Walking simulator / real-time 3D adventure

Role-Playing (RPG)

Character progression, stats, inventory, and player-driven builds at the core.

  • Action RPG (ARPG)

  • Computer / Western RPG (CRPG)

  • Japanese RPG (JRPG)

  • Massively multiplayer online RPG (MMORPG)

  • Roguelike / Roguelite

  • Tactical RPG (TRPG / SRPG)

  • Sandbox / open-world RPG

  • First-person party-based RPG

  • Monster-taming

Simulation

Models a system or activity with relative fidelity; the goal is to manage or operate it.

  • Construction & management (city builder, tycoon, god game)

  • Life simulation

  • Vehicle / flight / space simulation

  • Farming simulation

Strategy

Planning, resource management, and tactical or operational decision-making.

  • 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate)

  • Real-time strategy (RTS)

  • Real-time tactics (RTT)

  • Turn-based strategy (TBS)

  • Turn-based tactics (TBT)

  • Wargame / grand strategy

  • Tower defense

  • Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)

  • Auto battler

  • Artillery

Sports

Simulates or abstracts real or fictional sports.

  • Traditional sports simulation

  • Arcade sports

  • Sports management

  • Sports-based fighting

Racing

Vehicle competition against time or opponents.

  • Simulation (sim) racing

  • Arcade racing

  • Kart racing

  • Combat racing

Puzzle

Logic, pattern, and problem-solving challenges.

  • Tile-matching

  • Physics

  • Hidden object

  • Programming

  • Puzzle-platformer

  • Logic / traditional puzzle

  • Word / trivia

Survival & Crafting

Resource gathering, crafting, and base-building under persistent threat or scarcity. (Overlaps heavily with Action and Simulation.)

  • Survival

  • Crafting / base-building

  • Sandbox survival

Casual & Party

Low-barrier, short-session, or multiplayer-social play.

  • Casual

  • Hypercasual

  • Idle / incremental (clicker)

  • Party

Other notable genres

  • Horror (as a standalone, beyond survival horror)

  • Board / card / casino

  • Gacha

  • Digital collectible card game (CCG)

  • Educational / serious / exergame

Cross-cutting modifiers

These labels describe how a game is played or framed and combine with the families above rather than replacing them.

  • Sandbox / open-world — non-linear, player-directed exploration of a large space.

  • Massively multiplayer online (MMO) — large shared persistent worlds.

  • Roguelike elements — procedural generation and permadeath layered onto another genre.

  • Horror — a thematic framing that can modify action, adventure, or survival games.

UGAS pack prioritization

For the initial genre packs, issue #28 prioritizes the ten genres below. Selection blends player reach (casual ~63%, action & shooter ~39%, racing ~37%) with revenue / market share (Newzoo, Statista, GAMIVO, 2025–2026). The core spec already ships four case studies — platformer, racing, ARPG, and puzzle — which seed the first packs.

# Genre Maps to / rationale

1

Action / Action-Adventure

Action, Action-Adventure — the broadest reach and the engine for most real-time gameplay.

2

Shooter (FPS / TPS)

Action (shooter subgenres) — top PC/console revenue category.

3

Role-Playing (RPG)

Role-Playing (RPG) — deep progression systems; seeded by the ARPG case study.

4

Survival / Crafting

Survival & Crafting — high-engagement, fast-growing category.

5

Casual

Casual & Party — largest player base by reach (~63%).

6

Racing

Racing — broad reach (~37%); seeded by the racing case study.

7

Combat

Combat — fighting/dueling mechanics distinct from shooters.

8

Strategy (RTS / 4X / Tower Defense)

Strategy — planning- and resource-driven play.

9

Sports

Sports — consistently strong commercial performers.

10

Puzzle

Puzzle — wide casual reach; seeded by the puzzle case study.

Combat replaced Simulation in the top ten relative to an earlier draft, reflecting the combined player-reach and revenue ranking. Simulation remains a first-class family (see Simulation) and a candidate for a later pack.