2021-08-02T11:25:58 02:00

Games as a Service: Will everyone soon be playing just one game?

Service games dominate the gaming landscape: Apex Legends, GTA Online, or PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds are actually among the most played Steam games almost every day. Daily tasks, recurring grinds and new game content should bring you back into the game as regularly as possible.

That's why many big brands have mutated from the classic "one-time purchase experience" to Game as a Service. Be it Counter Strike (CS GO), Rainbow Six (Rainbow Six Siege) or Fallout (Fallout 76), just to name a few examples.

I was wondering what the future of service games looks like and if soon everyone will only play one (service) game.

What is a Game as a Service?

But what exactly defines a Game as a Service? Basically, a service game is a game that provides its players with new content over a long period of time. This can be levels, characters, game modes, weapons or similar. But it also includes the elimination of bugs or improvements to the gameplay - a full service package, so to speak.

The developers' main goal is to keep players interested, to get them to start the game regularly and, if possible, to keep spending money. One game to keep them all hooked, or "one game and you'll never need to play anything else".

The service game explained by the example of Destiny 2

There are many different models of a Game as a Service. Let's take a look at the MMO shooter Destiny 2 and show what such a model might look like.

The basic game Destiny 2 is Free2Play. This means that anyone can try it out for free, play the introductory campaign and take part in most PVP and PVE activities. The Halloween and Christmas events are also open to all players.

However, if you really want to dive deep into the game, unlock additional abilities for your characters and access all end-game activities, you will have to pay. Destiny 2 is built on three pillars of monetization:

Paid expansions
Paid Season Passes
In-game store with microtransactions for cosmetic items

The expansions bring new story missions, weapons, end-game activities like raids, and most recently, with "Beyond the Light," even new character abilities. Usually, an expansion for Destiny 2 is released once a year.

Between the expansions are the individual seasons - usually four seasons per year - which also bring new weapons and activities. A Season Pass costs about 10 euros, consists of 100 levels that need to be leveled up for various rewards, and - like in Fortnite or Apex Legends - is limited in time, so it can only be completed during the current season.

In combination with weekly challenges and daily mini-quests (loot raids), this should ensure that players log in to Destiny 2 regularly and stay busy with the game virtually all year round.

The in-game store - called Everversum in Destiny 2 - serves as an additional source of income for the developer Bungie. Here you can buy cosmetic armor sets or weapon ornaments for real money. However, the store does not offer any gameplay advantages or content.

Another special feature that Destiny 2 offers its most loyal fans is the in-house store on the website. Those who achieve certain achievements in the game unlock the possibility to buy official merchandise in the Bungie Store, which is only available to hard-working Destiny 2 players and thus brings with it a certain exclusivity.

This brings us full circle and makes it clear what developers and publishers are aiming for with the service game model.

Why are games as a service so popular with publishers?

You tie your players to your game virtually full-time and ensure a constant source of income with (free and paid) updates and in-game stores. The more connected players feel to a game, the more likely they are to spend a euro or two in the in-game store.

Instead of only collecting 70 euros for a game once, you can earn money from a game for years. Of course, new content has to be created to keep players happy, but this is less costly than developing a completely new title.

Another advantage for developers is that they don't have to build a new player base with a sequel, but can build on the existing community.

The future of service games: what the video game industry is planning

While many publishers are now focusing on service games, it's important to remember that there is still a large market for classic single-player experiences. Sony in particular has delivered many top-class games in recent years, such as God of War, Last of Us 2 and Marvel's Spider-Man, which have no service game pretensions and were still very successful.

Subscription service full of service games?

However, subscription models in the games sector could pose a threat in the future. Google recently announced for its Google Stadia Pro subscription that developers will soon receive a share of up to 70 percent of the subscription revenue. The catch is that developers will be paid proportionately based on how many days a subscriber has played their game in a month.

That is, the more often a game is played by players in a month, the more money the developers receive. Perfect, of course, for service games that regularly lure their customers with new content, but bad for small indie games or story-based games that are already finished after ten hours.

This distribution model could encourage developers to focus more on the service idea in the future and take their cue from mobile games, which are all too happy to lure their customers into the game with daily login rewards without really offering any added content value.

Assassin's Creed Infinity: An Assassin's Creed forever and ever

Another news that recently made the rounds also shows quite clearly in which direction the trend is going. Bloomberg recently reported Assassin's Creed Infinity, the next chapter in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series. As the title suggests, the next Assassin's Creed will no longer be a single game, but a platform that offers a virtually endless supply of content.

Bloomberg calls the project a "Live Online Game Service", which is supposed to be oriented towards GTA Online and Fortnite. The platform is to be fed with new content for years and not just offer one historical setting at a time, as has been the case in the past, but will be expanded with more and more different settings.

How exactly the distribution model is not yet known. However, a similar approach to Destiny would be conceivable: New settings would be added every one or two years with paid expansions, while the time in between could be bridged with smaller DLCs or even seasons.

Since Assassin's Creed has been getting more and more role-playing parts since Origins, a typical Season that adds new exotic weapons, sieges (like there are now in AC Valhalla ) or small areas wouldn't be that far-fetched. The weekly challenges of Valhalla would also only have to be expanded a bit and the first Assassin's Creed Infinity Live Season would be ready.

Will everyone only play one game in the future?

The question that comes to mind with this trend and that many gamers will probably ask themselves in the future is: How am I supposed to play more than one game if there are only service games left?

I myself like Destiny 2, the great gunplay and the fun raids bring me back again and again. The problem is that once I'm back in Destiny, I can't really play any other games thanks to the endless content loop. I don't even have to think about other service games like GTA Online or Apex Legends.

And now, suddenly, a formerly classic single-player experience like Assassin's Creed wants me to spend all my limited free time with it? Preferably several hours a week, for months, for years, with no end in sight ..

I completely understand why every publisher is so keen on creating their own Destiny, GTA Online or Fortnite and thus a constant source of income. But do we really need more of those? Do we want such a one-sided gaming landscape at some point, where everyone only plays their favorite service game?

I'm a bit dreading it, and I don't want to miss out on big and bold AAA productions like The Last of Us 2 or small indie gems like Cuphead in the future. The great diversity of the video game industry is what makes our hobby so special and exciting.

I hope that distribution models like Google's don't become the industry standard and that every publisher now tries to force their big brands into a service game corset. With Anthem, Ghost Recon Breakpoint and Marvel's Avengers, there have been a few negative examples in recent years that have shown that such a game-as-a-service approach can really go down the drain.

What do you think about service games? Do you play one or even several regularly? And would you like to see more of them?

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