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

Stellar Blade 2 Now Officially In Development, Shift Up To Expand IP In Various Ways

Shift Up has now confirmed that Stellar Blade 2 is officially in development. The franchise may have multiple games down the road.

Resident Evil Requiem Releasing on PS4 and Switch 2, It’s Claimed

Insider claims that Resident Evil Requiem will be arriving on the PS4 and the Switch 2 consoles, possibly after initial release.

Upcoming PS5 Slim Revision Features Less Storage Than Current Model

The PS5 is getting a new model, but the console is also set to ship with less memory moving starting this month.

Helldivers 2 Reportedly Sold Almost 1 Million Copies on Xbox In Less Than A Week

According to an analyst firm, Helldivers 2 has sold almost 1 million copies on the Xbox platforms in less than a week.

Perfect Dark Would Have Required An Additional $100 Million To Save

Recent reports on Perfect Dark confirm that the game could have been saved with additional investment of around $100 million.