tech
In the killer world of online gaming, there are no hits any more
The fates of two ostensibly similar online games released this year, Marathon and Highguard, prove that success is becoming close to unattainable
TL;DR
- The live-service video game industry is driven by the expectation of immediate and substantial financial returns, treating games as investments rather than products.
- Highguard, a free-to-play game, failed spectacularly within months due to player retention issues and the swift withdrawal of funding from its primary investor, Tencent.
- Developers like Wildlight Entertainment are not given enough time for games to find their audience or for improvements to be made, leading to rapid cancellations.
- Sony has a history of canceling numerous live-service games, reflecting a broader industry trend of high-risk, high-reward strategies.
- Bungie's Marathon, while currently performing well and benefiting from the studio's experience with Destiny, still faces the existential threat of not meeting publisher profit expectations.
- The rapid pace of the industry and intense scrutiny by players and analysts create a 'time-to-kill' environment where games and studios can be quickly deemed failures.