Summary
With the rise in both the popularity and prominence of live-service games, it can be hard to keep up. Of course, there are staples likeDestiny,FortniteandApex Legends, among others, but there’s also a rash of live-service games that simply don’t ascend to those heights.
Take, for example, Radical Heights. It was a live-service game that debuted in early access in April 2018. It was a third-person multiplayer shooter similar to Fortnite, but featured a twist of BMX bike riding in an attempt to differentiate itself. Oh, and it had the backing of Cliff Bleszinski ofGears of Warfame. The game lasted just one month after a lack of initial success in its early access phase. Active development ceased for good, and Bleszinski’s Boss Key Productions studio closed down.
That said, in a new interview with Video Games Chronicle, Steve Sinclair, the CEO of Digital Extremes, the group behindWarframe, contends that some live-service games pull the plug way too soon. If the game isn’t an immediate hit, then it’s doomed, according to Sinclair.
“They Think The Release Is Make Or Break,” Says Warframe Boss
Sinclair’s comments come at an intriguing time when it comes to live-service games. Earlier this year,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewas releasedto mediocre reviewsand low player counts.According to a financial earnings call, Warner Bros. apparently is taking a $200 million loss on its live-service superhero gamble.
Elsewhere,Microsoft shut down Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks earlier this year. Arkane Austin was responsible forRedfall, which also received a poor initial reception at launch.
Sinclair lamented how publishers base a game’s success off its initial release, instead of letting things play out. “They think the release is make or break, and it’s not," he said. “They have a financial way to be persistent, and they never do it. It comes out, doesn’t work, and they throw it away.”
Indeed, there are myriad examples of live-service games being thrown away, some with startling timelines, like the aforementioned Radical Heights.Previously, TheGamer put together a list of live-service games that shut down all too soon, and some of the names are pretty massive,such as Bioware’s Anthem.
“Isn’t that a shame when you put so many years of your life into iterating on those systems or building technology or building the start of a community, and because the operating costs are high, you get terrified when you see the numbers drop and you leave,” Sinclair added. “We’ve seen this with amazing releases that I think have massive potential, and I think they eject too soon.”
Perhaps Sinclair’s comments will strike a chord with publishers who have live-service games in development. Warframe has been going strong since 2013, so there is some authority when it comes to these ventures. At the same time, the market may be too saturated for any sort of change.
