Live service games have always been popular among gamers, becoming a massive part of the revenue the games industry generates. This popularity is evident by their appeal on streaming platforms, where such releases are typically found amongst the most viewed and streamed games.
However, an analyst from Newzoo has reportedly predicted that the domination of live service games will end in 2024. He reckons the PC and console market will become oversaturated, and the focus will shift towards premium game development.
Why it matters: Live service games have been all the rage in the past few years. However, many projects in this genre began to fail not too long ago, showcasing the cracks of games as a service.
Some of the biggest live service titles include Destiny 2, League of Legends, GTA Online, Fortnite, and more. Considering how popular these games are, they are by no means dying this year, and neither will these developers stop supporting their titles.
However, the analyst believes that while existing live service games will continue to do well, the developers, who are not already part of this genre, will no longer be as interested in exploring live service development.
2023 was a crazy year for the gaming industry. Some fantastic games came out, but many studios faced a challenging time, leading to layoffs and restructuring. Even a massive AAA studio like Naughty Dog ultimately abandoned its live service push.
A recent report suggested that the industry’s focus will shift towards mid-sized games. We saw Microsoft finding immense success with H-Fi Rush last year, so other developers might follow suit.
Oversaturation in the live service genre could lead to a massive fallout this year and beyond. Games like Hyenas suffered because of this, with Sega canceling development before release.
Major studios likely noticed this trend already, making them wary of greenlighting such risky live service projects in the future.
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News Reporter
Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.
