Developers Are Concerned About Sustainability of Live-Service Games

A significant number of game developers are unsure about the long-term sustainability of the live-service monetization model, according to a recent survey. Generally, live-service games are those that receive continual updates after launch, often divided into seasons or chapters, and are usually accompanied by a monetization scheme like battle passes. The goal is to keep players engaged and continuously playing the game and spending money, and the model has proven extremely lucrative for developers.

The trend toward live-service models has been met with resistance by many in the gaming community who prefer the more traditional one-and-done games of the past. The conflict has led to comparisons and debates over which is better, with the lack of paid DLC or microtransactions in games like God of War being seen by many as a selling point. On the other hand, when Diablo Immortal and Diablo 4 introduced live-service to a franchise that previously had none, it was seen as both a major negative and a progressive step forward by divided fans.

In a survey run by Game Developer Collective (via Game Developer) between February and March 2024, 600 game developers were asked about video game monetization schemes and the expected sustainability of live-service models. Notably, 70% of those interviewed expressed concerns about live-service, with 39% being “somewhat concerned” and 31% being “very concerned.” Only 25% of developers felt no concern at all, and 4% didn’t know.

Of those who had concerns about the sustainability of live-service in games, the majority (63%) were most worried about players simply losing interest in the business model. Following closely behind this, 62% of the 600 developers were concerned about competition from other live-service games. Other areas of concern were the increased costs associated with grabbing and keeping player attention, partly as a result of the aforementioned competition, and rising development costs in general. Loss of investor