EA is attempting to justify its reliance on live-service games, saying players want them so it’ll keep making them.
This comes after the announcement that the company aims to lay off 11% of its workers by March 2025, as well as during a time when gamers believed live-service and free-to-play games are becoming the only thing available on the market. Some games like Helldivers 2 pull off the live-service model quite well, whereas games like Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League struggle to stay relevant amongst steep competition.
Take a look at Helldivers 2 below, it’s well worth a look.
For better or worse, live-service is quickly becoming the norm, and it’s a point of controversy amongst players as many believe it’s an excuse from companies to release unfinished games for premium prices. This “release now, fix later" trend has sunk the potential of several titles like Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones, though EA seems to believe it’s exactly what gamers want.
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EA Entertainment President Laura Miele recently gave a statement saying: “One of the essential parts of delivering on our plans is making sure we are listening to our players and investing in the games they want to play.”
She went on to say "The reality of a creative business is that market conditions and players' needs are always changing. We're seeing a rapid player shift toward large open-world games, massive communities, and live services."
It’s true that when a live-service game is done right, it can be both enjoyable to the players whilst being profitable for the developer and publisher. Games like Fortnite and the aforementioned Helldivers 2 have seemingly championed the art of delivering quality content alongside cosmetic and time-saving DLC. That being said, if the base game is lacking from the word go, the fact it’s live-service is usually the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
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