RAWG

RAWG is a video-game database and discovery service delivered through an API and a web platform. It is best suited to developers building broad game catalogs, search, or recommendation features across modern and older systems. The free tier can work for non-commercial projects, while production use depends on request ceilings, attribution, and redistribution rules.

Overview

RAWG’s API covers more than 500,000 games across 50 platforms, including mobile. That scale is useful when one integration must span current consoles, PCs, handhelds, and historical systems rather than maintain separate sources. Records can include descriptions, genres, release dates, store links, ESRB ratings, average playtime, gameplay videos, Metacritic ratings, system requirements, downloadable content, and franchise relationships.

This is more than a lookup catalog. RAWG says its similar-game recommendations are generated with computer vision, while activity signals include Steam average playtime plus RAWG player counts and ratings. Every API request needs an API key, so authentication is a basic implementation requirement. RAWG names Yandex, a Discord search bot, Reddit and Telegram recommendation bots, and a DTF bot among applications using the service.

Key features

Rich catalog records

The mixture of editorial, technical, and commercial fields supports detailed game pages, filtering, and buying journeys. System requirements help PC-focused products, store links connect research to purchase, and DLC and franchise data can organize larger series. If a project only needs titles and release dates, this breadth may add integration and data-management work without much benefit.

Discovery signals

Computer-vision-based similar-game recommendations give a catalog an automated way to suggest what to play next. Playtime, player counts, and ratings provide activity context, although products should account for the fact that these signals come from the sources RAWG identifies rather than from a universal player population.

Usage and compliance

The API terms allow commercial use at no charge for startups and hobby projects with no more than 100,000 monthly active users or 500,000 monthly page views. Larger commercial projects must contact RAWG for commercial terms. Any page using RAWG data or images must show attribution and an active RAWG hyperlink. Redistribution for resale or for making the data available to other businesses is prohibited, which rules out some data-export and downstream marketplace models.

Pricing

The Free plan is the sensible starting point for prototypes, hobby work, and qualifying small services, but its non-commercial condition, 20,000-request ceiling, and backlink requirement limit public products. Business raises the quota and adds commercial rights and richer media, yet its 50,000 requests may still be tight for a heavily used app. Enterprise is aimed at organizations needing bulk delivery, tailored data, or priority support; pricing must be obtained directly.

Platforms

RAWG supports API and web access. The catalog spans PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, Nintendo DS and DSi, Wii, PS Vita, Android, iOS, Linux, Game Boy Advance, SNES, Apple II, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, Atari XEGS, and other listed systems. This range favors cross-platform products and retro catalogs as well as current releases.

Who it's for

Choose RAWG for a game marketplace companion, catalog, search tool, or recommendation feature that needs one large, varied dataset. It is especially practical for non-commercial developers who can stay within 20,000 monthly requests and display attribution. Commercial teams should budget for Business or a negotiated Enterprise arrangement and confirm that their traffic, page-view volume, and redistribution model fit the terms.

Pros and cons

• Pro: More than 500,000 games across 50 platforms gives cross-generation projects unusual coverage.
• Pro: Metadata, videos, ratings, requirements, store links, DLC, and franchise fields support substantial game pages.
• Pro: Computer-vision recommendations and activity metrics add discovery context beyond static records.
• Con: The free plan is non-commercial and capped at 20,000 requests per month.
• Con: Attribution with an active link is mandatory, and data cannot be redistributed for resale or to other businesses.
• Con: Business costs $149 a month while allowing 50,000 requests, so high-traffic services may need custom Enterprise terms.

Alternatives

Game Databases is a useful starting point when you want to compare directory entries rather than commit to one API.

BoardGameGeek is the better fit for a free, registered tabletop-game site on Android, iOS, or the web. Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Database suits readers seeking a focused card database with no paid plans or stated usage limits.

IGDB is worth choosing when you prefer a free API whose commercial use requires a partnership and user-facing attribution. LaunchBox is aimed at organizing and playing a personal library on Windows or Android, with a free starter tier and a 30.00 USD one-time Windows option.

NostalgiaDB offers free API and web access, with an API key required and registered accounts needed for play and archive downloads. RaiderZ Game Database is a free-to-play web and Windows choice. YGOPRODeck provides a free API with 20 requests per second, after which access is blocked for an hour. The Visual Novel Database is the narrower option for non-commercial visual-novel data, limited to 200 requests per five minutes and additional execution constraints.

Verdict

RAWG is a strong choice for developers who need broad, multi-platform game metadata and built-in discovery signals from one API. Its principal advantages are dataset breadth and useful catalog fields; its principal drawbacks are capped quotas, mandatory attribution, and tight rules around commercial scale and redistribution. Pick it when those terms fit your product, and look elsewhere when you need unrestricted downstream data, a specialized database, or predictable high-volume access without negotiating custom conditions.