Think about your favourite computer game. Now imagine you are somehow transported into it. That is what LitRPG is: a role-playing game in book form, and the story of what it could look like if that actually happened to you.
If you have been wondering what is LitRPG, and how it is different from progression fantasy, GameLit, cultivation and the rest, you are not alone. I listen to this genre constantly and I still struggle with some of these. So this is the plain-English version, with the terms explained and an example of each from my own Audible library.
For what it is worth, my first LitRPG was either Viridian Gate Online or Nova Terra: Titan. It was love at first chapter. I knew I had found my genre. The only other genre I am as passionate about is dystopian apocalypse books, and I am not sure what that says about me.
If you want to try one while you read this, an Audible trial comes with a credit, and I tell you where I would spend it further down.
What is LitRPG?
LitRPG, short for literary role-playing game, is fiction where the rules of a role-playing game are part of the story. Characters have levels, classes and skills. They get stronger by fighting, questing or training, and the reader sees it happen, often through stat screens or messages from “the system” that runs the world.
Wikipedia puts it this way: LitRPG combines the conventions of computer RPGs with science fiction and fantasy novels, and the visible stats, things like strength, intelligence and damage, are a significant part of the reading experience. That last part is what separates it from ordinary fantasy. In a normal fantasy novel a character gets stronger and you take the author’s word for it. In LitRPG you get the numbers.
The term itself is young. According to Wikipedia, it was coined in Russia in late 2013, in a brainstorming session between author Vasily Mahanenko and two editors at the publisher EKSMO.
What I love about it is the escapism. You are immersed in another world and another character, and because these series run long, you get to know the characters and grow with them over thousands of pages.
What is progression fantasy?
Progression fantasy is the wider family LitRPG is usually grouped with. The term was popularised by author Andrew Rowe in 2019, and his definition is simple: fiction that focuses on characters increasing in power and skill over time. They train, learn new techniques, study their opponents and climb, literally or figuratively, through levels of power.
Rowe also gives the best quick test I have seen. If the book three version of the main character could easily beat the book one version in a fight, it is probably progression fantasy.
The key word is power. Rowe is specific that progression means the character’s strength and skill, not climbing the social ladder or getting rich.
LitRPG vs progression fantasy: what is the difference?
This is the one that trips everyone up, me included. The short answer:
- Progression fantasy is about a character getting stronger over time, in any kind of world.
- LitRPG is about a character getting stronger inside a game-like system, with levels, stats and skills you can see on the page.
So most LitRPG is also progression fantasy, but plenty of progression fantasy is not LitRPG. Rowe’s own example is Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive: characters grow enormously in power, but there are no stat screens and no system. Wikipedia notes LitRPG has been described both as a subgenre of progression fantasy and as its cousin, and Rowe himself says it is more of a spectrum than a yes or no.
In practice, if you see numbers on the page, it is LitRPG. If you only see a character getting steadily, measurably stronger, it is progression fantasy.
LitRPG vs GameLit
GameLit is the looser term. According to Wikipedia, it came into use to cover stories set in a game world that do not necessarily involve levelling up and raising skills. So the game is there, but the numbers and the grind are lighter, or missing.
You will see the two used together on covers and in store categories, often as “LitRPG GameLit”. Nova Terra, one of my first, describes itself exactly that way.
LitRPG subgenres, with an example of each
Once you are in, you will run into a lot of labels. These are the ones you will see most, each with a series from my own library.
VRMMO: trapped in the game
The classic flavour. A virtual reality online game becomes the world the character lives in, sometimes by choice, sometimes because they cannot get out. This is where I started. In Viridian Gate Online, Jack Mitchel dodges an asteroid heading for Earth by uploading his mind into a brand-new VR game. In Nova Terra: Titan, Xavier Lee is trapped in his own body by a medical condition and finds his escape in a game world.
System apocalypse: the game comes to Earth
Instead of the character going into a game, the game comes to them. A “system” arrives, Earth is changed overnight, and everyone has to level up or die. Defiance of the Fall, The Primal Hunter and Welcome to the Multiverse all start this way. Dungeon Crawler Carl is technically one too, though as I explain in books like Dungeon Crawler Carl, nothing else plays out quite like it. If you want to start it, here is the Dungeon Crawler Carl reading order.
Isekai and portal fantasy: taken to another world
Isekai is a Japanese term meaning “different world”, and it describes stories where someone is transported into another world and has to survive there. Portal fantasy covers much the same ground. My favourite series, He Who Fights with Monsters, is one: Jason Asano, a laid-back Aussie, is pulled from Earth into a world with magic and a system. Heretical Fishing is another, where Fischer is summoned into a fantasy world and would rather go fishing than be a hero.
Cultivation, xianxia and wuxia
These come from Chinese fiction. In cultivation stories, characters grow in power through practices like meditation and refining their energy, with immortality often the end goal. Xianxia is the subgenre steeped in Chinese mythology and Taoist ideas, while wuxia is grounded martial arts adventure with little or no magic. Plenty of Western LitRPG borrows from cultivation: Defiance of the Fall mixes it with its system, and The Path of Ascension blends LitRPG with xianxia elements.
Dungeon core: you are the dungeon
The strangest one on the list. The main character is the dungeon itself. It builds rooms, spawns monsters and sets traps, and the adventurers are the threat. Jonathan Brooks’ Dungeon World is literally subtitled A Dungeon Core Experience. I started it but dropped off, and I am not entirely sure why. Probably a new He Who Fights with Monsters book came out and distracted me.
Will the stats put you off?
They might. I think heavy stat books are the thing most likely to put a newcomer off. Some series put a stat screen on every other page. Others, like He Who Fights with Monsters, keep them light and do not repeat them endlessly.
My advice if you hit a heavy one: that is what the skip button is for. On audio, jump ahead and you are back in the story. You do not need to track every number to enjoy the book.
Where to start with LitRPG
I would start with He Who Fights with Monsters. It is a classic, it will get you going down the rabbit hole, and it goes easy on repeated stats, which makes it a good first one. Here are all 13 He Who Fights with Monsters books in order if you want the full picture before you commit.
Most of this genre is long, and I listen to almost all of mine, because I can get through it while I do other things. An Audible trial includes a credit, which covers book one. If you are deciding between Audible and Kindle Unlimited for LitRPG, I have compared them properly in whether Kindle Unlimited is worth it for LitRPG readers.
Two ways to start on Audible
- Audible Standard is the cheaper plan. You pick one audiobook a month from the whole catalogue, but you only keep access while you are a member. If you just want to listen your way through a long series, this does the job.
- Audible Premium (formerly Premium Plus) costs more. You get a credit a month, and whatever you spend it on is yours to keep even if you cancel. It also includes a catalogue of titles you can listen to at no extra cost.
Amazon sometimes runs deals on these plans, so check the current offer on each page before you pick. Not sure which one suits you? I have compared Audible Standard and Premium side by side.
Common questions
What does LitRPG stand for?
Literary role-playing game. It is a genre of fiction built on the rules of role-playing games, with levels, stats and skills as part of the story.
Is LitRPG the same as progression fantasy?
No, but they overlap heavily. Progression fantasy is any story about a character growing in power over time. LitRPG is the version where that growth runs on game mechanics you can see on the page. Most LitRPG is progression fantasy; not all progression fantasy is LitRPG.
What is the difference between LitRPG and GameLit?
GameLit is broader. It covers stories set in or around games that do not necessarily involve levelling and stats. LitRPG is the stricter form, where the numbers are part of the reading experience.
What is the difference between wuxia and xianxia?
Wuxia is martial arts adventure grounded in the human world, with little or no magic. Xianxia adds Chinese mythology, Taoist ideas, supernatural power and the pursuit of immortality.
Who coined the term LitRPG?
According to Wikipedia, it came out of a 2013 brainstorming session in Russia between author Vasily Mahanenko, EKSMO editor Dmitry Malkin and author and editor Alex Bobl.
Sources
Definitions of LitRPG and GameLit, and the origin of the term: Wikipedia, LitRPG. Progression fantasy definition, the book one versus book three test and The Stormlight Archive example: Andrew Rowe, 2019. Isekai: Wikipedia, Isekai. Cultivation, xianxia and wuxia: Wikipedia, Xianxia. Dungeon core definition: LitRPG Critic. Series premises: the publishers’ own descriptions on Audible, Tantor and Chirp, checked 30 September 2026.
