Live service games: According to a survey, quite unpopular among developers

For quite a few people, live service games are the scourge of the gaming world, regardless of the fact that such titles bring enormous sums of money into publishers' coffers. A survey now shows how the developers feel about it.

Live service games can generate enormous sales if they strike a chord with players – think of GTA Online, Call of Duty, Fortnite or Apex Legends. However, you can also use it to lie down on the chewing bar, as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League recently proved. Nevertheless, many publishers rely on this model and hope for a big hit. As an earlier study showed, over 500 development studios are currently working on such titles and often not entirely voluntarily, because those same publishers are really keen on it.

Game Developer, Omdia and GDC now have 600 developers Survey on the topic of business models and monetization carried out and as it turns out, the developers don't find live service games all that exciting. For the purposes of the survey, live service games were defined as games with regular updates and in-game purchases.

According to the survey, 39 percent of developers surveyed are “mildly concerned” about current live service business models. Another 31 percent said they were “very worried.” A total of 29 percent were unsure or had no fears. A whopping 45 percent view the model generally negatively and another 44 percent have a mixed opinion.

According to the study, developers' biggest concern is sustainability. 63 percent of developers are worried that players will eventually lose interest. 62 percent also admitted that they fear other big games could take players away from them. Other results of the survey include: 57 percent said it will be difficult to retain players' interest in the long term.

When it comes to monetization, 30 percent of developers would prefer paid expansions and 76 percent think normal sales make more sense than free-to-play with microtransactions. Unfortunately, especially for larger products, the decision is not made by the studios, but by their publishers, so we will probably continue to struggle with live service games and the developers will have to bear a high risk. If such an elaborate title flops, it can mean the end of a studio.