Merchant RPG vs NGIO
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Merchant RPG
Manage a fantasy shopkeeping empire by sending heroes on quests for materials and using crafters to create gear. Balance crafting, selling, and hero upgrades to build your trade empire and conquer foes. This offline idle RPG blends tycoon mechanics with traditional RPG elements.
- Send heroes on quests
- Craft weapons and armor
- Manage shop economy
- Upgrade heroes and crafters
- Raid bosses
- Customize characters
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Be the Merchant of your very own empire! Quest, Craft, Profit, Upgrade! As the Merchant, you are the commander of your own domain! Blending together traditional RPG systems, tycoon mechanics, and a fantasy overworld, Merchant aims to reimagine the traditional mobile RPG. In Merchant, players take the role of a shopkeeper who must manage a team of Heroes and Crafters. Heroes are sent out on quests in order to fight enemies and gather materials. Crafters then use those materials to create weapons and armor. As the shopkeeper, players must balance their micro-economies between selling items for gold and crafting items to better ensure success for the Heroes. * * * TAKE REIGN OF YOUR MARKET - Send Heroes out on epic adventures! - Pay Crafters to create gear! - Earn gold and dictate the direction of your economy! - Grow your inventory and profit from your trade empire! VICTORY THROUGH CONQUEST - Choose your cast of characters from multiple Hero classes! - Ride out to battle to bring back items and loot! - Customize your champions with weapons and armor! - Band together to raid powerful bosses as a party! - Better performance leads to greater rewards! CRAFT YOUR LEGACY - Utilize the unique Crafters to create items and gear to use and sell! - Train the Crafters to create better items, allowing them to master their trade! - Ensure the victory of your Heroes by outfitting them with superior items! * * *
NGIO
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New Game is Over reveals the mechanics of anxiety comodification. The goal of the game is to set up the production of anxiety, shoot your fear and escape the worlds of phantasmagoria
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NGIO at none against Merchant RPG's 12. NGIO also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 4 months). Merchant RPG's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Merchant RPG sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. NGIO asks for nothing beyond the download.
Merchant RPG ships an update every 4 months, NGIO daily. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Merchant RPG | NGIO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (276 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 68.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 276 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Daily — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 67 MB | 297 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Retora Game Studios | Mikhail Maksimov |
Bugs and requests
Merchant RPG
Reported bugs
3 issues- Ads not working properly
- Inventory management issues
- Progression-blocking bugs
Requested features
4 requests- Add save slots or cloud sync
- Improve equipment visuals
- Implement auto-repeat quests
- Provide more guidance for new players
NGIO
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Merchant RPG
- 16 Inventory Slots$0.99
- 16 Additional Inventory Slots II$0.99
- 16 Additional Inventory Slots III$0.99
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- 16 Additional Inventory Slots$0.99
- Unlock the Jeweler$0.99
- Hero Slot I$0.99
- Hero Slot II$0.99
- Enchanter Unlock$1.99
- Unlock all Shop Themes$2.99
- Frozen Tome Expansion$2.99
- Scribe Expansion$3.99
- Unlocks Everything$14.99
NGIO
No in-app purchases









