Fantasy readers are leveling up. Welcome to LitRPG.

You couldn't walk very far at New York Comic Con this year without running into Dungeon Crawler Carl .

The bestselling fantasy series was everywhere on the convention floor, from merch booths to an author signing with Matt Dinniman.

Even I couldn't resist picking up a Princess Donut sticker.

And while the premise of a man and his ex-girlfriend's cat fighting their way through an apocalyptic, video game-inspired dungeon created by aliens might sound absurd, its popularity points to something much bigger happening in the world of books .

Welcome to LitRPG, a genre that combines the immersive storytelling of fantasy with the mechanics of role-playing games.

Characters level up, earn experience points, and unlock new abilities, much like they would in World of Warcraft or Dungeons & Dragons .

It's a genre that's been thriving in online communities for years, but now it's having a mainstream moment, thanks in part to the runaway success of Dungeon Crawler Carl .

According to The Atlantic , the first eight volumes of the series have sold more than 17 million copies , with a TV adaptation currently in development for Peacock.

SEE ALSO: Comic conventions are becoming content studios.

NYCC is embracing the shift.

And the publishing industry is taking notice.

After years of building audiences through self-publishing and online fiction platforms, LitRPG titles are now finding their way onto bookstore shelves .

Penguin Random House's Ace imprint began publishing Dungeon Crawler Carl in 2024, while Harper Voyager acquired four books in pirateaba's sprawling web serial The Wandering Inn earlier this year, bringing the series to print for the first time.

Meanwhile, independent publisher Aethon Books partnered with Vault Comics to launch a new imprint dedicated to bringing popular indie fantasy titles into bookstores, including deluxe hardcover editions of He Who Fights with Monsters .