A decade ago, our most advanced game was a ball bouncing between two sticks. Today, gaming is a leading industry with new developments almost every other day. In the mid-2000s, gaming services focused on increasing player retention. They wanted players to be engaged even when they have cleared levels. That’s how ‘Live Service Games’ were created.
What is Live Service Gaming?
Live service games are unique kinds of video games made to keep players interested and playing for as long as possible. This means that companies develop a game they can upgrade for years to come rather than creating one game and moving on to the next.
DOTA 2, Valorant, and Fortnite are examples of such live service games. They are constantly upgraded with new stages and worlds for high engagement. The player will constantly be introduced to new worlds, tasks, and obstacles to tackle.
Keeping games going for longer instead of ending them and transitioning to a sequel is swiftly becoming the norm instead of the exception. With brief titles, constant updates allow games to be in the public eye for longer. Resulting in catching the attention of existing and potential players.
How Do They Profit?
Live Service Games don’t require an initial cost of cash and instead generate their revenue via subscriptions or in-game purchases. It has been shown that Games as a Service keeps players more interested for a longer period and enables video games to be monetized even after they are published.
People often keep YouTube live streams while playing these games. The streaming game community is strong with thousands of users watching and streaming online games.
Live service games are quite a controversial topic because game developers have been charged with utilizing deceptive tactics to get players to spend money. Some have even compared the use of loot boxes to gambling.
