Publishers Pivoting To Live-Service Games Have Most Devs Worried
A newly published survey shows that most game developers aren’t too sure about live-service video games—like Destiny 2 and Suicide Squad —representing a sustainable future for the industry, and think the return of paid DLC might be a better option instead.
The Game Developer Collective is a panel of over 600 game devs created by Game Developer, Omdia, and GDC. These devs were interviewed earlier this year about live-service games. For purposes of the survey, live-service games are defined as online titles that feature frequent updates and in-app purchases. When asked about these kinds of always-online forever games, most developers didn’t have positive opinions.
As reported by Game Developer , 39 percent of surveyed devs had “mild worries” over current live-service business models. Another 31 percent said they were “very” concerned. Meanwhile, a combined 29 percent were unsure or had no fears.
When it comes to how live-service games impact the industry, 45 percent view these online games negatively, while 44 percent have a more mixed view. Overall, that’s not a ringing endorsement of our live-service future from the people being asked by publishers to develop these expensive, time-consuming projects.
