I've seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

Gaming IndustryI’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service gamesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Rocksteady)

Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League screenshot of King Shark

We began 2024 withSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueand ended it withDragon Age: The Veilguard. Both are new games from beloved institutions of 2010s triple-A single player games, their first outings in many years⁠—a full decade since Arkham Knight and the last Dragon Age game, while it’s been five years since BioWare’s Anthem-shaped failure. Both were⁠—at least for part of development, with The Veilguard⁠—attempts at making live service, persistent multiplayer games in the vein of Destiny.

Trying to retrofit a singleplayer studio into a ‘live service machine go brrr’ moneymaker is not a smart bet.

Among singleplayer studios that successfully transitioned to live service, I see only early adopters, edge cases, or extenuating circumstances. Digital Extremes and Bungie were the first formerly singleplayer-focused studios to find major success making MMOs with more action-heavy gameplay and a focus on smaller instanced missions rather than open worlds⁠—they were some of the first on this scene, and now evenBungie has run into significant difficultieswhile Digital Extremes has managed to stay the course.

(Image credit: BioWare, Electronic Arts)

Dragon Age: Th Veilguard - Davrin crouches down to speak to a griffin

The late 2010s and early ’20s have seen a large number of failed live service games, particularly from highly-regarded singleplayer studios. Here’s a quick overview:

Surely we’ve seen enough to know that trying to retrofit a singleplayer studio into a “live service machine go brrr” moneymaker is not a smart bet, nor the best use of these incredible amalgamations of talent, experience, and institutional knowledge. It’s like trying to make a sports car go off-roading: That’s just not what the machine was built for, and you’ll probably damage your suspension.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Dragon Age: The Veilguard seems to have polarized the series' fanbase while its sales success remains an open question, but it largely landed with critics⁠—I personally loved it⁠—and it certainly doesn’t appear to have been any kind ofdisasterfinancially. I have no doubt in my mind that if Veilguard had released with a battle pass, seasonal content plans, and a halfhearted emphasis on repeatable missions, its reception would have looked more like Anthem or Suicide Squad’s.

PCG online editor Fraser Brown was on the moneywhen he pointed outthat the success of Fortnite is an industry aberration, not the future of games. And when you’re making decisions on what your successful singleplayer studio should make next, which do you think is more likely: That it will produce the next Destiny, a 10+ year dynasty of profit, or a polished but hollow MMO-lite that will need to be put out to pasture in one to three years, its headstone one of those embarrassing .jpeg apology letters thanking the community? Let singleplayer studios stick to singleplayer games.

TOPICSBioware

TOPICS

PRODUCTSDragon Age: The VeilguardSuicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

PRODUCTS

More about gaming industryLords of the Fallen studio embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its gamesEpic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

More about gaming industry

Lords of the Fallen studio embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its gamesEpic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’

Lords of the Fallen (2023) promotional image - very large man with a very large hammer on a very large horse charging a very small man with a very small magic sword

Lords of the Fallen studio embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its games

Tim Sweeney

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

Wordle answers

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

See more latest►

Most Popular

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals