Empress's Choice VS AFK Journey

'Empress's Choice' is a mobile adventure/visual novel RPG released in mid-2022 on iOS with romance and simulation elements. This is a niche genre without mass market appeal and lacks a major publisher or developer attached. Given the age (around 2 years old) and genre, it is unlikely to maintain high player numbers outside a core niche, so the DAP is estimated to be low.

AFK Journey, developed by Farlight Games, is a recently released cross-platform fantasy idle RPG with gacha and adventure elements. The game has generated significant hype post-launch, especially among mobile and casual strategy communities, and leverages the popularity of its predecessor, AFK Arena. Recent mobile downloads and community activity suggest strong daily engagement, likely in the hundreds of thousands. Given its cross-platform support and gacha monetization, retention is high at launch. However, it does not qualify as an MMO despite some open-world and multiplayer features, as it lacks a persistent large-scale shared world.