Video game database and discovery website for game metadata, ratings, release dates, genres, platforms, screenshots, trailers, stores, developers, publishers, API access, recommendations, and game library tools
RAWG
RAWG is a video game database and discovery website that collects game metadata, ratings, release dates, platforms, genres, screenshots, trailers, store links, recommendations, and API access for developers.
What RAWG is
RAWG is a video game database and discovery website for game metadata, ratings, platforms, genres, release dates, screenshots, trailers, store links, developers, publishers, and recommendations. Visit RAWG.io to search games, browse trending titles, track discovery information, and explore the site's game database. The site is useful when a reader wants a game-centered reference layer rather than a news article or storefront page. It organizes facts about games so players, collectors, and developers can compare titles across platforms and categories.
Game metadata as the product
RAWG's core value is metadata: names, descriptions, release dates, genres, platforms, screenshots, trailers, ratings, stores, developers, publishers, tags, franchises, and related links. That structured information makes it easier to search, filter, recommend, and connect games. A good game database can answer questions that a store page alone may not. It can help someone find similar games, compare platforms, check release timing, or build a personal list around genres and tags.
Discovery and recommendations
RAWG presents itself as both a database and a discovery service. Discovery means helping users move from one known game to other games they might like, using ratings, tags, visual similarity, platform filters, popularity signals, and release data. This is different from a review site. RAWG does not need to write a long argument about every game to be useful; its value comes from organizing many small pieces of information into a searchable map.
API for developers
RAWG's API documentation describes access to a large video game database for personal, business, and enterprise projects. The API can return data about games, platforms, genres, stores, developers, publishers, tags, screenshots, trailers, and related metadata. For developers, that means RAWG can power apps such as game libraries, recommendation tools, Discord bots, catalog projects, collection trackers, or search interfaces. The API terms require attention to usage limits, attribution, backlinks, and commercial-use rules.
Stores, platforms, and linked data
Because games are spread across Steam, GOG.com, console stores, mobile platforms, and publisher sites, linked metadata matters. RAWG includes store links, platform fields, system requirements, ESRB ratings, average playtime, and official website links where available. That makes it a connector between discovery and action. A user can find a game, learn what kind of game it is, see where it appears, then move toward a store, trailer, screenshot gallery, or official page.
Strengths and tradeoffs
RAWG is strongest as a broad discovery and metadata source. It can cover many games, tags, screenshots, and platform combinations in a way that would be hard for a normal article archive to maintain. The tradeoff is that large databases can contain gaps, outdated entries, duplicate records, or uneven detail. For buying decisions, users should still check official pages, store listings, recent patches, user reviews, and platform-specific performance information.
Why it matters
RAWG matters because video games are now too numerous and fragmented for one storefront or news site to organize everything well. A database layer helps players discover, compare, catalog, and build tools around games across many platforms. It also matters for developers. A public game metadata API can save small teams from building an entire game catalog themselves, while still raising questions about attribution, licensing, data quality, and long-term access.