Updated
Published by The Fifth Family about The Fifth Family. Our own figures are read live from the game database every time this page loads and are not typed in by hand. Competitor figures come from those studios’ own public listings, are dated below, and are calculated on exactly the same basis as ours.
The claim, stated plainly
The Fifth Family launched on 29 March 2026. In the 178 days since, it has registered 7,319 players — an average of 1,252 new players every month, or roughly 41 a day, built by a two-person team with no paid user acquisition for most of that period.
Measured as registrations per month since launch, that is a faster rate than any other mafia or crime RPG launched in the 2020s.
It is not the biggest game in the genre and this page does not pretend otherwise. Torn has run since 2003 and it announced its four-millionth account in November 2025 and 2026 reporting put it past 100,000 daily active players. Mob Wars: La Cosa Nostra has been online since 2009 and reports over a million registered players, which on a lifetime average works out at roughly 4,711 registrations a month — comfortably ahead of us. Both had fifteen to twenty years to get there. What follows is a comparison of rate among games that started this decade.
How we compare
Every game below is measured identically: total registrations divided by full months since launch.
| Game | Launched | Months live | Registrations / month | Where the figure comes from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Fifth Family | Mar 2026 | 5.8 | 1,252 | Counted live from our own database |
| Cartel Empire | May 2022 | 52.4 | 1,023 | Sequential player IDs, read 11 Sep 2026 |
| Mob Wars: La Cosa Nostra | 2009 | 212.3 | 4,711 | “Over 1 million registered”, own app store listing |
| Torn | 2003 | 274.1 | 14,593 | “Four-millionth account”, Torn press release Nov 2025 |
Against Cartel Empire, the closest growing title launched this decade, our rate runs 22% higher — and we have been doing it for 6 months rather than 4.4 years.
How these numbers were worked out
Our figures are counted live from our own database on every page load: registered accounts excluding non-player accounts, families currently operating, and crimes committed across the world. Nothing about The Fifth Family on this page is entered by hand, which is why the date at the top moves on its own.
Cartel Empire assigns sequential player IDs, so a newly registered account’s ID is that game’s lifetime registration count. Ours was read on 11 September 2026, and their rate is calculated to that date rather than to today — otherwise their average would quietly fall as time passed and our lead would grow without anyone earning it.
Mob Wars: La Cosa Nostra publishes “over 1 million registered players” and “online since 2009” on its own store listings. Torn announced its four-millionth account on 5 November 2025 in its own twenty-first anniversary release, and its rate is calculated to that date. Where a number cannot be verified we leave it out rather than guess at it.
Two caveats we would rather state than have pointed out. A lifetime average flatters games whose growth was front-loaded, which is very likely true of Mob Wars during its Facebook-era peak — its current rate is probably well below the figure in that table, though nobody outside the studio can measure it. And our own average is drawn from a short window, so it will move as the game matures.
Why a new game in this genre grows at all
The persistent browser-based game predates the mobile app store and has outlived a long run of predictions about its death. What the genre has had little of is new entrants built for how people actually play now.
The Fifth Family was built mobile-first, with native iOS and Android apps sharing one account with the browser version. Between March and September 2026 we rebuilt 29 of the game’s systems using five months of live player data. Careers went from 8 paths to 100. Achievements went from 70 entries to 224 four-tier lines. The Mansion became an eight-wing Estate with real build times. The Arena rebuild finished in September.
Combat formulas are published in full inside the game rather than hidden, with block, dodge and critical chances shown as live curves against your own statistics.
What you are actually joining
Ten city districts gated by boss encounters rather than experience levels — master all ten crimes in a district before its boss becomes fightable, and only by beating that boss does the next district open. Five criminal families, with 133 player-run families operating right now. Crimes, heists, smuggling, espionage, a player-driven market, and ranked seasonal PvP where your equipment locks the moment you enter, across a world that has seen 2,557,182 crimes committed so far.
Free to play, no download, about a minute to start.
Questions before you join
How many players does The Fifth Family have?
7,319 registered players as of 23 September 2026, with 462 active in the last 24 hours. The game launched on 29 March 2026.
Is The Fifth Family bigger than Torn?
No. Torn has run since 2003 and is far larger. This page makes a claim about rate of growth among games launched in the 2020s, not about size.
Why does the comparison only cover the 2020s?
Because measuring a game five months old against titles running since 2003 and 2009 measures longevity rather than growth. Both older games are named above with their figures rather than left out of it.
Is it really free?
Yes. It runs in any modern browser with no download, and the optional iOS and Android apps share the same account.