70% of Developers Believe Live Service Games Are Unsustainable

Expert Verified By

Due To Competition & Players Losing Interest!

Story Highlight
  • Game Developers conducted a survey where the majority of developers were concerned about this genre’s sustainability.
  • The two major reasons for the concerns were players losing interest and market competition.
  • Developers also expressed concern about monetization practices.

Live-service gaming is just as popular as single-player gaming today. For investors and publishers, the former is more lucrative, motivating the likes of Warner Bros, EA, and PlayStation to pursue the model.

However, it is no surprise that breaking into live-service is difficult today. According to a new survey, a large number of developers are also concerned about the sustainability of this genre.

Why it matters: Players are comfortable with the already existing live service games, so developers struggle to attract audiences for new projects.

Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 Is The Latest Live-Service Hit on The Market

A survey conducted by GDC asked 600 developers about different aspects of the genre, including business models and monetization.

In this survey, it was found that 39% of the developers were concerned about sustainability, while 31% were very concerned. In total, only 30% of the developers did not have any concerns about live service.

The survey suggests that two big reasons behind their perspective include gamers losing interest and the competition. This makes it increasingly challenging to keep a live-service game going after initial success.

A game like Palworld, while not primarily live service, serves as a great example. Despite its record-breaking start, it has lost most of the initial audience that tagged along after the buzz.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League Skull and Bones
Two Major Games Have Already Failed In 2024

While teams behind games like Hogwarts Legacy and Days Gone may pivot to live service, they could find it difficult to stand out.

Therefore, survival in the market would require innovations from the developers’ end. Perhaps new ways to keep gamers engaged or pocket-friendly monetization could be potential solutions.

A game like Helldivers 2 is a great example in this regard, highlighting that a basic approach is often the best one. However, developers are right to worry since failures like Suicide Squad show how one misstep can be the end of all live-service ambitions.

Was our article helpful? 👨‍💻

Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋

How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔

Gear Up For Latest News

Get exclusive gaming & tech news before it drops. Sign up today!

Join Our Community

Still having issues? Join the Tech4Gamers Forum for expert help and community support!

Latest News

Join Our Community

104,000FansLike
32,122FollowersFollow

Trending

Black Ops 7 Beta Struggles on Steam – Player Count Nearly 5x Lower Than Battlefield 6 Beta

According to SteamDB, Black Ops 7 beta player count only topped at about 100K players, compared to Battlefield 6 beta's over 500K.

Activision Claims 97% Of Black Ops 7 Cheaters Are Banned Within 30 Minutes

97% of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 cheaters were banned within 30 minutes of signing in, while only 1% made it into the game.

Silent Hill 3 Remake Reportedly Coming in 2028 as Bloober Team Works on Resident Evil-Inspired New IP

Bloober Team is rumored to be working on a Silent Hill 3 remake and a new Resident Evil-inspired IP, with releases expected in 2026 and 2028.

Battlefield 6: EA Promises 120 FPS Performance on Consoles and Free DLC Support

Battlefield 6 to support 120FPS, and alongside, EA to give out a free DLC titled 'Covert Operations' during Season 1.

Microsoft Reportedly Scrapped Its Xbox Handheld After AMD’s Shocking Demands

A new report reveals that the first-party Xbox handheld was cancelled because AMD demanded 10 million sales to develop a custom SoC.