I agree that we're all a little burnt out by the business model and the somewhat insincere presentation. So at this point, I'm struggling to see a world in which any F2P game-as-a-service outside of mobile makes sense.
So I'm curious about your take on what good looks like on the live service front. What scenarios, what conditions, what benchmarks.
Good live service looks like a game people would play even if the monetization layer disappeared tomorrow, built around a community model that the players themselves own, selling things people want rather than things they fear losing; and structured so the studio can breathe between drops.
The reason most F2P live service outside mobile doesn't clear that bar is that mobile's economics (massive install base, low friction spend) can paper over a bad loop. PC and console audiences have higher friction and longer memory. They will find the seams.
The examples that work: Helldivers 2, Path of Exile, Deep Rock Galactic are all games where the studio demonstrably respects the player's time but they are few and far in between.
Stardew Valley got big because Harvest Moon never had a pc port, as pc gaming was on a rise. That's pretty much it. It's not even a the best game compared to Rune Factory, which innovated a bit by adding full rpg elements to a farm sim. Just perfect timing. Sort of like how the PC port of persona 4 golden let pc bros "discover" the persona series
Palia did suck at first though, i remember reviews about how you had mmo stylings but you really didn't have much in the way of player interaction.
idk i think live service doesnt work with cozy because you dont relax in a live service game, the monetization relies on "children yearn for the mines" style grinding and fomo.
"Cozy live service" sounds like an oxymoron, like "jumbo shrimp" or "airline food." Two concepts that just don't jive together.
Very insightful as always, Abbas!
I agree that we're all a little burnt out by the business model and the somewhat insincere presentation. So at this point, I'm struggling to see a world in which any F2P game-as-a-service outside of mobile makes sense.
So I'm curious about your take on what good looks like on the live service front. What scenarios, what conditions, what benchmarks.
Good live service looks like a game people would play even if the monetization layer disappeared tomorrow, built around a community model that the players themselves own, selling things people want rather than things they fear losing; and structured so the studio can breathe between drops.
The reason most F2P live service outside mobile doesn't clear that bar is that mobile's economics (massive install base, low friction spend) can paper over a bad loop. PC and console audiences have higher friction and longer memory. They will find the seams.
The examples that work: Helldivers 2, Path of Exile, Deep Rock Galactic are all games where the studio demonstrably respects the player's time but they are few and far in between.
Great breakdown, and not enough devs (or creatives in general) understand how easy it is for this sort of audience trust to break.
Stardew Valley got big because Harvest Moon never had a pc port, as pc gaming was on a rise. That's pretty much it. It's not even a the best game compared to Rune Factory, which innovated a bit by adding full rpg elements to a farm sim. Just perfect timing. Sort of like how the PC port of persona 4 golden let pc bros "discover" the persona series
Palia did suck at first though, i remember reviews about how you had mmo stylings but you really didn't have much in the way of player interaction.
idk i think live service doesnt work with cozy because you dont relax in a live service game, the monetization relies on "children yearn for the mines" style grinding and fomo.