Is Single-Player Dead? 95% of Studios Bet on Live Service Future

Expert Verified By

Live Service Deluge is Coming!

Story Highlights
  • A survey involving 537 studios has hinted at a major live service push industrywide.
  • Of these teams, around 95% are experimenting with the genre.
  • The report states live service projects require five years or more of development time.

The live service genre is currently gaming’s most profitable. Through a consistent stream of content and microtransactions, this genre has proven to be appealing to nearly every studio in the industry.

However, for all its benefits, this genre has been known to carry devastating consequences for studios that fail to stand out. Therefore, it might be concerning that a report states around 95% of teams are experimenting with such projects.

Why it matters: With studios worldwide focusing on the genre, the industry could suffer from live service fatigue, possibly leading to a devasting crash for this segment of gaming.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
 

As reported by Gamesindustry, 537 developers recently responded to a survey worldwide. Of these teams, around 66% argued in favor of the genre, stating that live service projects are practically needed for success in modern gaming.

The report also notes that creating games in this genre takes more time, with development cycles stretching over five years compared to the typical three-year development cycle of a single-player release.

Moreover, the report elaborates that such studios are aiming for faster content releases to maximize engagement. Most studios are targeting weekly to biweekly updates and patches.

Meanwhile, they hope to churn out new content every month. However, this makes the genre incredibly challenging. Not only is it hard to break into this genre, but staying relevant presents a whole other dilemma.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Such a focus on games lasting over time might be harmful to the industry in the long run. Studios like Rocksteady have recently received negative feedback after focusing too much on live service elements in Suicide Squad.

Meanwhile, Naughty Dog has scrapped several years of effort after failing to create a sustainable online game based on The Last of Us. Making matters worse, there have been various instances of existing live service games shutting down in the last two years.

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

Sega To Focus On Global Market Instead Of Japanese-First Approach For A Strong Comeback, President Confirms

Sega president Shuji Utsumi has confirmed that the company is adopting a more modern global focus approach to become a behemoth once again.

Fans Claim Game Pass Quality Has Significantly Improved In 2025 Compared To Last Year

Fans claim that the Game Pass value has significantly improved in 2025 compared to last year, with some stating they no longer purchase games.

Colorful Launches iGame GeForce RTX 5050 Series with Unique Designs

Colorful releases the GeForce RTX 5050 Series with three different variants, powered by NVIDIA Blackwell and DLSS 4.

New GTA 6 Job Listings Suggest Rockstar Preparing Huge Global Marketing Campaign

New GTA 6 job listing confirms that Rockstar is confident in the game's current release date, as a huge marketing campaign is about to begin.

GTA Veteran Says Game Launches Are More Stressful Now Compared To PS2 Era

Former GTA developer says game launches are now...