Data insight
The Unreal asset boom started before ChatGPT, not because of it
Plot the models against the curve and the growth was already exponential.
The catalogue's growth, with the AI models marked
New listings per month and the cumulative catalogue, with major OpenAI/Anthropic releases marked
as of May 2026
| Month | New listings (month) | Total catalogue |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-01 | 30 | 296 |
| 2016-02 | 45 | 341 |
| 2016-03 | 76 | 417 |
| 2016-04 | 54 | 471 |
| 2016-05 | 77 | 548 |
| 2016-06 | 72 | 620 |
| 2016-07 | 66 | 686 |
| 2016-08 | 73 | 759 |
| 2016-09 | 57 | 816 |
| 2016-10 | 62 | 878 |
| 2016-11 | 69 | 947 |
| 2016-12 | 44 | 991 |
| 2017-01 | 64 | 1055 |
| 2017-02 | 55 | 1110 |
| 2017-03 | 75 | 1185 |
| 2017-04 | 43 | 1228 |
| 2017-05 | 66 | 1294 |
| 2017-06 | 57 | 1351 |
| 2017-07 | 62 | 1413 |
| 2017-08 | 25 | 1438 |
| 2017-09 | 173 | 1611 |
| 2017-10 | 214 | 1825 |
| 2017-11 | 129 | 1954 |
| 2017-12 | 118 | 2072 |
| 2018-01 | 221 | 2293 |
| 2018-02 | 166 | 2459 |
| 2018-03 | 179 | 2638 |
| 2018-04 | 175 | 2813 |
| 2018-05 | 222 | 3035 |
| 2018-06 | 160 | 3195 |
| 2018-07 | 213 | 3408 |
| 2018-08 | 294 | 3702 |
| 2018-09 | 188 | 3890 |
| 2018-10 | 260 | 4150 |
| 2018-11 | 187 | 4337 |
| 2018-12 | 151 | 4488 |
| 2019-01 | 168 | 4656 |
| 2019-02 | 163 | 4819 |
| 2019-03 | 207 | 5026 |
| 2019-04 | 199 | 5225 |
| 2019-05 | 241 | 5466 |
| 2019-06 | 248 | 5714 |
| 2019-07 | 261 | 5975 |
| 2019-08 | 212 | 6187 |
| 2019-09 | 171 | 6358 |
| 2019-10 | 231 | 6589 |
| 2019-11 | 158 | 6747 |
| 2019-12 | 144 | 6891 |
| 2020-01 | 199 | 7090 |
| 2020-02 | 246 | 7336 |
| 2020-03 | 258 | 7594 |
| 2020-04 | 224 | 7818 |
| 2020-05 | 446 | 8264 |
| 2020-06 | 443 | 8707 |
| 2020-07 | 353 | 9060 |
| 2020-08 | 378 | 9438 |
| 2020-09 | 403 | 9841 |
| 2020-10 | 410 | 10251 |
| 2020-11 | 372 | 10623 |
| 2020-12 | 325 | 10948 |
| 2021-01 | 427 | 11375 |
| 2021-02 | 388 | 11763 |
| 2021-03 | 538 | 12301 |
| 2021-04 | 419 | 12720 |
| 2021-05 | 449 | 13169 |
| 2021-06 | 419 | 13588 |
| 2021-07 | 479 | 14067 |
| 2021-08 | 489 | 14556 |
| 2021-09 | 482 | 15038 |
| 2021-10 | 534 | 15572 |
| 2021-11 | 536 | 16108 |
| 2021-12 | 408 | 16516 |
| 2022-01 | 468 | 16984 |
| 2022-02 | 513 | 17497 |
| 2022-03 | 491 | 17988 |
| 2022-04 | 491 | 18479 |
| 2022-05 | 560 | 19039 |
| 2022-06 | 615 | 19654 |
| 2022-07 | 537 | 20191 |
| 2022-08 | 591 | 20782 |
| 2022-09 | 543 | 21325 |
| 2022-10 | 614 | 21939 |
| 2022-11 | 690 | 22629 |
| 2022-12 | 636 | 23265 |
| 2023-01 | 702 | 23967 |
| 2023-02 | 745 | 24712 |
| 2023-03 | 781 | 25493 |
| 2023-04 | 738 | 26231 |
| 2023-05 | 830 | 27061 |
| 2023-06 | 836 | 27897 |
| 2023-07 | 815 | 28712 |
| 2023-08 | 880 | 29592 |
| 2023-09 | 877 | 30469 |
| 2023-10 | 907 | 31376 |
| 2023-11 | 869 | 32245 |
| 2023-12 | 792 | 33037 |
| 2024-01 | 928 | 33965 |
| 2024-02 | 984 | 34949 |
| 2024-03 | 1048 | 35997 |
| 2024-04 | 1056 | 37053 |
| 2024-05 | 1271 | 38324 |
| 2024-06 | 1094 | 39418 |
| 2024-07 | 1126 | 40544 |
| 2024-08 | 1206 | 41750 |
| 2024-09 | 1304 | 43054 |
| 2024-10 | 1569 | 44623 |
| 2024-11 | 1553 | 46176 |
| 2024-12 | 1323 | 47499 |
| 2025-01 | 1280 | 48779 |
| 2025-02 | 1199 | 49978 |
| 2025-03 | 1882 | 51860 |
| 2025-04 | 1560 | 53420 |
| 2025-05 | 1564 | 54984 |
| 2025-06 | 1511 | 56495 |
| 2025-07 | 2252 | 58747 |
| 2025-08 | 1727 | 60474 |
| 2025-09 | 680 | 61154 |
| 2025-10 | 1715 | 62869 |
| 2025-11 | 1883 | 64752 |
| 2025-12 | 2611 | 67363 |
| 2026-01 | 2045 | 69408 |
| 2026-02 | 1685 | 71093 |
| 2026-03 | 3448 | 74541 |
| 2026-04 | 3497 | 78038 |
| 2026-05 | 1754 | 79792 |
It's tempting to credit (or blame) generative AI for the flood of Unreal assets. But marking the major OpenAI and Anthropic releases against the growth curve shows the acceleration was well underway before ChatGPT.
Generative AI added a small, genuinely new niche of LLM-integration plugins and plausibly sped existing sellers up — but it didn't invent a boom that was already happening.
About this number
From the MythicLemon Marketplace Index, recomputed for this reporting period. Catalogue coverage is complete through May 2026. Methodology →