How many "live service" games are you juggling right now?

[Lauren Morton]

Hey there PC gamers, sorry for being a little late to the forums this week! On this episode, Mollie and I brought back our fellow multiplayer enjoyer Morgan Park to talk about "live service" games. What even counts as a live service game though? Are MMOs always considered "live service"? Is it the battle passes that make something "live service" or the fact that they can only be played online? In any case, the three of us always seem to be juggling multiple games or swapping between them and as a result we're feeling a little exhausted by it all.

How many "live service" games are you juggling right now?​

Maybe you've gotten into Helldivers 2 but you're still keeping up with this season's R6 Siege battle pass. Maybe you're maining FF14 and have also been trying out Palia. There's a reason we all enjoy these games but there's no doubt that logging in can start to feel like our nightly homework. Come get it off your chest with us if you're also feeling a little worn out by the current online game meta.

 

[Alm]

Halo infinite, and Hearthstone currently. Taking a look at xdefiant and The First Decendant as possible extras too.

 

[Zloth]

I don't think I've really done a proper live service game. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey had some of that, and No Man's Sky has a little, but I ignored that aspect in both.

When the term first started showing up, it seemed more like people were talking about any game which has frequent updates. Updates with limited time content is something else. Blah. Errr, wait, mostly-blah. Seasonal events in MMOs (like trick or treating in City of Heroes) are fun, and they are long enough that it's easy to hit them.

 

[red_5ive]

None for me at the moment. I tried Helldivers 2, but couldn't get into it. Diablo IV will likely be next based on some feedback I received. But that's IF I can get myself off of Dragon Age: Origins anytime soon.

 

[steeleman21]

Right now, the only game I'm playing that remotely fits the bill would be Deep Rock Galactic; it has seasons and battle passes, but it's also the most player-friendly approach I've seen. It's entirely free, any cosmetics not gained through the battlepass would become available afterwards in the shop (using in-game currency). There's no dailies per se, you have optional challenges to get an extra chunk of XP. But they don't refresh daily, they just cap so you have a maximum of three that will wait for you until they're complete or you swap it for a different challenge. And anytime you complete a challenge, there'll be a cooldown before you can receive a new challenge - so you can't blast through the battlepass too fast.
Also very soon, the devs are adding the ability to select a particular season at will. So if you want, you can jump back into any season and continue its respective battlepass, so it's removed the time pressure to get it done before the next season drops.

I know it gets said a lot, but Ghost Ship Games and their updates to DRG really demonstrate they are the GOAT when it comes to player-focused development... Rock and stone! ⛏

 

[Zloth]

But that's IF I can get myself off of Dragon Age: Origins anytime soon.

Nah, you don't want to do that.

 

[red_5ive]

Nah, you don't want to do that.

Yeah, probably won't happen anytime soon. I'm way too hooked. I even upgraded my GPU a few months ago for better performance in newer games, yet just about all I've done since is play old(er) games. And I don't even care lol.