What are ‘live service’ games and why they disappear – 03/14/2023 – Tech

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A series of “live service” games will cease to exist in a few months. These are titles that went through years of development before being released, were successful with critics and the public and, even so, will have their existence prematurely interrupted.

The mass extinction could indicate a saturation of the model. However, specialists in the games market believe that it is more a result of the current economic environment and a natural maturation of the industry.

I explain the phenomenon:

Which games had their end announced?

At least six games had recently announced closures. The best known of them is “Apex Legends Mobile”.

The multiplayer first-person shooter from Electronic Arts seemed to be experiencing a moment of great success. It was chosen game of the year for Android and iOS devices in 2022, appeared among the most downloaded games in both the Google and Apple stores and had been nominated for mobile game of the year at The Game Awards.

Still, in late January, developer Respawn Entertainment claimed in a message on Twitter that the servers that keep the game running would be turned off in three months and that the game will stop working on May 1st, 16 days before completing its first year of life.

A few days later, the closures of “Rumbleverse” (battle royale by Epic Games), “Knockout City” (multiplayer action game with dodgeball battles by Velan Studios) and “CrossfireX” (multiplayer shooter for Xbox consoles by Smilegate) were announced. , as well as lesser known titles like “Crayta” and “Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero’s Bonds”. In common, all games can be considered “live service” titles.

What are “live service” games?

The expression “live service” –or “games as a service”, identified by the acronym GaaS (“Game as a Service”)– is used to designate games that adopt long-term costing strategies, such as billing for subscriptions, microtransactions and/or selling expansions and “season passes”.

In general, these games are never-ending and are designed to keep players engaged for years. For this, they have constant updates, temporary special events and adopt mechanisms as prizes for users who access the game frequently.

To attract a large number of players, these games usually have a cheaper starting price, and many can be played for free.

Looks cool! Why aren’t all games like this?

A “live service” game is much more work and involves more risks than a traditional game.

Games that adopt the most common industry standard – that of selling the game for a closed price, without microtransactions or extra content – ​​have a very low maintenance cost after launch. Everything that is collected from sales is converted into profit.

On the other hand, companies that launch “live service” games need to maintain for years a considerable number of developers creating new content and updating existing ones, teams to serve players and moderate their communication channels and servers to keep the game running independently. number of connected users, among others.

All while attracting new fans without irritating old ones, maintaining a positive balance between costs and revenues, and meeting the expectations of executives and investors. Not an easy task.

And is all this work worth it?

It’s a risky gamble, but one that pays off tremendously when the game wins favor with a large community of players. Some of today’s most commercially successful games, such as the battle royale “Fortnite”, the first-person shooter “CS:GO” and the multiplayer “GTA Online” adopt this model to some extent.

Also, it’s a way to keep a profitable game for many years. The MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online RPG) “World of Warcraft”, for example, was launched in 2004 and even today, almost 20 years later, it yields dividends for Blizzard with the sale of expansions and subscriptions.

Is this model outdated?

It’s not what experts in the gaming market believe.

Oscar Clark, author of the book “Games as a Service” and CEO of the publisher Fundamentaly Games, sees the extinction of “live service” games as a natural event in view of the slowdown in the games market after the pandemic. He also claims that this will become increasingly common as more major developers bet on this model.

“There’s a growing push to make more games as a service, and we’re seeing more high-end games adopting this model. With more and bigger ‘live service’ games being proposed, it’s inevitable that we’ll start to notice more when these games inevitably fail. “, he said in an article published on the PocketGamer.biz website.

Serkan Toto, CEO of the market analysis company Kantan Games, recalls the purchase of Bungie — developer of the well-known series of games as a service “Destiny”– by Sony and statements by its CEO, Jim Rayn, that the company intends to launch at least ten “live service” games by the end of 2026, to reinforce the idea that games as a service are here to stay.

“We are only in the beginning stages of a gaming-as-a-service revolution, especially on consoles. […] There are still many lessons to learn, users to get used to this new style of play, and business models to be refined. Many more ‘live service’ games will be shut down, but that’s part of moving the industry forward,” he told GamesIndustry.biz.

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play

game tip, new or old, for you to test

hifi rush

(PC and Xbox One/X/S)

Surprisingly released in January of this year, this colorful rhythm-action game marks a significant shift in style from developer Tango Gameworks, known for horror-heavy games such as “The Evil Within” series and “Ghostwire: Tokyo.” In “Hi-Fi Rush” the player takes on the role of a teenager who dreams of being a rockstar and finds himself involved in a conspiracy involving robots and an evil megacorporation. The game is available on Xbox Game Pass.

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update

news, launches, business and what matters most

• Microsoft has turned down a proposal from the UK competition regulator to dispose of part of Activision Blizzard’s properties in order for the company’s takeover to go through. On the other hand, the company suggested an agreement with Sony and cloud gaming platforms to ensure the availability of its games, such as the “Call of Duty” series, in competition for ten years.

• Sony continues to oppose the deal. According to the website The Verge, the company sent a document to the British authorities stating that it fears that, if the deal is completed, Microsoft will intentionally publish a version with bugs and errors of “Call of Duty” on the PlayStation to undermine consumer confidence. on your console.

• Epic Games has launched a platform for developers to publish their own games on its virtual store. In an attempt to outdo Steam, the biggest online store for computer games, the company says it will charge developers a 12% fee for sales on its platform, less than half the 30% charged by its competitor.

• Abragames (Brazilian Association of Electronic Game Developers) entered into a partnership with Gamescom organizers to exhibit more than 50 games by Brazilian developers at the main fair for the games industry in Europe. Brazil will have the status of official partner of this year’s event, which will take place in Cologne, Germany, from 23 to 27 August.

• Meta announced a price reduction for its virtual reality devices. The Quest Pro, a more advanced model, launched in October, went from US$ 1,500 (R$ 7,825) to US$ 1,000 (R$ 5,216). The 256 GB Quest 2 went from US$ 500 (R$ 2,608) to US$ 430 (R$ 2,243). The devices were not launched in Brazil.

• Scheduled for the first half of this year, the science fiction RPG “Starfield” should only hit stores on September 6th. It is the second postponement of the Bethesda game, which was initially announced for November last year.

• “Honor of Kings”, the most popular game on the Chinese market, was officially launched in Brazil on the 8th. menus translated into Portuguese and voiced characters.

• Microsoft has announced upcoming games coming to Xbox Game Pass in March. Taking advantage of the remake of “Dead Space”, the sequels “Dead Space 2” and “Dead Space 3” are now available on the service. This Tuesday (14), “Valheim” arrives at the service in early access and, on Thursday (16), it will be the turn of “Civilization 6”.

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download

games that will be released in the next few days and promotions that are worthwhile

March 14

“The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure”: R$ 209.99 (Switch), undisclosed price (PC, PS 4)

“The Wreck”: R$ 59.99 (Switch), price undisclosed (PC, PS 4/5, Xbox One/X/S)

March 16

“The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR”: BRL 214.90 (PS VR2)

March 17

“Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon”: BRL 299 (Switch)

“WWE 2K23”: BRL 349.90 (PC, PS 4, Xbox One), BRL 399.50 (PS 5, Xbox X/S)

promotions of the week

• In celebration of International Women’s Day, Humble launched a promotion with games featuring female characters. A pack of eight games, including “Control”, “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice” and “Sable”, starts at US$15. Part of the proceeds will be donated to NGOs with programs that encourage women to work with games and technology. The promotion runs until March 29th.

• Last Friday (10), as part of the Mario Day celebrations, Nintendo offered games featuring the mustachioed plumber for the Switch. In the first stage of the promotion, until March 23, there are 32% off games like “Mario Party Superstars”, “Luigi’s Mansion 3” and “Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze”. In the second stage, from March 24 to April 7, games such as “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe”, “Super Mario Odyssey” and “Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury” will be discounted.