Live service games are ubiquitous in this day and age, as they are strong sources of revenue for publishers and companies. Based on some new data, it looks like they have long evolved beyond a fad and aren't going away. Based on the Griffin Gaming Partners' 2023 Game Development Report, 537 studios across the planet were surveyed last year. 

According to the information provided by GamesIndustry.biz, 66% of the surveyors stated that the live service model is necessary for games to survive in a long-term means. A live service game, according to the survey, is any video game where regular maintenance and regular updates are planned. The information also labels development cycles for standard/traditional video games to be three years, while live service titles are around five through their lifespan.

"Multi-year game development forms production processes and pipelines that are intended to deliver a few key milestones in what is essentially a waterfall process. Production in live services, however, is a constant state of planning & adjusting game parameters to enhance player experience while designing and deploying new features to add new player value," the survey states.

Looking at the success of Fortnite, Apex Legends, Hoyoverse's Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail, both having major updates in the coming days, and Overwatch 2, live service games fill a need to meet both player demand, along with sporting enough content to draw in either a larger player base or to sustain their current customers to sustain themselves. Is it something that will be a growing norm for more studios? Capcom's Exoprimal blends live service mechanics with single player story experiences, an interesting experiment, but can it keep up with the demands?

The survey also states that live service games want content to be released increasingly faster.

"Across the industry, live service teams reported their ideal production schedules as weekly to biweekly for live ops cadences and biweekly to monthly for game content updates. In the context of game development, which typically spans multiple years, live service production schedules are moving at breakneck speed."

As long as there is a public to satiate, live service games will have their place. But the field is getting very crowded, and shorter development cycles may end up costing in game quality or fan interest. 

SOURCE: GamesIndustry.biz