Of all the new trends from the modern era of gaming, there's perhaps none more groan-inducing than "Games as a Service," aka live-service video games. While there are a handful of titles that utilize the live-service model effectively, for the most part, these titles are viewed disparagingly.
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Posts 2The idea behind a live-service game is that it's constantly evolving. Through consistent patches and the diligent work of the developers, these releases should, in theory, steadily improve. Yet, for every long-running healthy live-service game, many fail to make an impact, leaving the studios no choice but to pull the plug.
Updated on September 15, 2024, by Dennis Moiseyev: Welcome to the graveyard of live-service games that expired too soon. Unfortunately for PlayStation's Concord, it's taken its place here. Along with it, we've also added a few other live-service offerings that distatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/'t last long before getting shut down for good. RIP to all of them.
13 Concord
August 23, 2024 – September 6, 2024
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FPS 1.0/10 Released August 23, 2024 ESRB t Developer(s) Firewalk Studios Publisher(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment Engine Unreal Engine 5 Multiplayer Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer Platform(s) PC, PS5 Powered by Expand CollapseConcord's fate was a shock to the system for Sony, PlayStation, its development team, the journalists who covered it, and the gaming community as a whole. When you think about a PlayStation exclusive, you don't imagine it being gone within two weeks of its launch, especially when it took eight long years to be developed. But that's what sadly happened to Concord. The servers officially shut down on September 6, 2024, just 14 days after launch.
The main issues were the timing and pricing. Concord is a hero shooter that tried to break into the genre when there are already so many well-established titles that are also free to play, such as Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, and Valorant. In contrast, Concord was being sold at $40 per unit, with a beta that distatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/'t win over anywhere near enough players, so its launch numbers quickly began to fall.
12 Radical Heights
April 10, 2018 – May 14, 2018
CloseSuffice it to say the battle royale genre took the gaming world by storm. Starting with PUBG and Fortnite, the trend quickly increased in popularity, transcending the gaming sphere and across mass media. Expectedly, there were many developers keen to capitalize on the wave.
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PostsOne of those titles was Radical Heights, released by Boss Key Productions, who previously produced Lawbreakers. Radical Heights was a gigantic flop. After only one month in Early Access, active development ceased, and Boss Key Productions closed its doors for good.
11 The Day Before
December 7, 2023 – January 22, 2024
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Open-World Zombie Released December 7, 2023 ESRB m Developer(s) Fntastic Publisher(s) MYTONA Engine Unreal Engine 5 Multiplayer Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer Platform(s) PC Powered by Expand CollapseThe Day Before is often considered one of the biggest live service scams in gaming history. There were major red flags during the development process, like many of the developers being volunteers, and it soon turned into a meme that the game was never going to be released due to its scope, constant delays, and unconventional development. Then, the trailers were accused of copying shots from other games.
The 'Early Access' launch turned out to be even more disastrous than anyone could've anticipated. IGN scored the game a one out of ten, and the gameplay was indeed a shockingly awful display. Just four days after the game was out in the wild, the studio shut down, citing "The Day Before has failed financially, and we lack the funds to continue." Out came the refunds, and the game itself officially shut down in a little over a month.
10 Crucible
May 21, 2020 – November 9, 2020
CloseCrucible
Shooter 3.0/5 Released May 21, 2020 ESRB t Publisher(s) Amazon Games Engine Amazon Lumberyard Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Platform(s) PC Developer Relentless Studios Powered by Expand CollapseAmazon is now in a much better place with live-service games, thanks to New World and Lost Ark, but its earlier endeavor, Crucible, distatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/'t pan out the same way. Crucible launched in May 2020, just as the world was in turmoil, and the development was likewise impacted by the team having to work remotely. That led to it quickly pivoting to the beta phase just one month after its launch.
Then, after an unsuccessful beta stage, Crucible shut down in November of the same year, surviving just shy of a full six-month lifespan. Even though it was around longer than some, it's still a pretty abrupt shutdown. While shooters may not have been the way to go for Amazon Games, fantasy MMORPGs certainly were, and it's good to see the developer still making some waves.
9 Babylon's Fall
March 3, 2022 – February 27, 2023
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Action RPG Hack and Slash 1.0/5 Released March 3, 2022 ESRB T For Teen due to Blood and Gore, Language, Partial Nudity, Violence Developer(s) Platinum Games Publisher(s) Square Enix Engine Proprietary Engine Platform(s) PC, PS4, PS5 Powered by Expand CollapseThe rise of the "Games as a Service" business model prompted many developers to try their hand at making a live-service title. Regardless of what games they were previously known for, studios like Bethesda and Bioware jumped headfirst without thinking twice about the risks.
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PostsThat is the pitfall that developer PlatinumGames tumbled into with Babylon's Fall. Despite being known for games like Nier: Automata and Vanquish, they decided to test the live-service waters. Tragically, Babylon's Fall fell hard both commercially and critically.
8 Lawbreakers
August 8, 2017 – September 14, 2018
CloseLawbreakers
Third-Person Shooter Released August 8, 2017 ESRB m Developer(s) Boss Key Productions Publisher(s) Nexon Engine Unreal Engine 4 Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Platform(s) PS4, PC Powered by Expand CollapseAnother grievous aspect of modern gaming is how developers eagerly jump on favored trends. During the mid to late 2010s, advance-movement surged in popularity, with Titanfall, Call of Duty, and Halo leading the charge. As such, other newer IPs tried to compete in this hyper-competitive market.
Lawbreakers, developed by Boss Key Productions, tried to offer a unique twist on FPS advance-movement gunplay but ultimately failed to stand out among industry giants. While generally well-received, the game was unsuccessful in attracting an ample player base.
7 CrossfireX
February 10, 2022 – May 18, 2023
CloseWhat's great about video games, much like any entertainment industry, is their vast variety worldwide. While most Western audiences know Call of Duty or Halo as the primer FPS series, in China and South Korea, the king of the FPS is Smilegate Entertainment's Crossfire.
To reach a broader audience, Smilegate teamed with Xbox Game Studios and Remedy for CrossfireX. Sadly for all involved, Crossfire's allure distatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/'t translate across the sea, the game was poorly reviewed by critics, and even its free-to-play model coulstatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/'t save it.
6 The Culling
October 5, 2017 – May 15, 2019
CloseEven when video games employ shady practices and tactics, at least the individuals behind them sometimes try to hide what they're doing, so it's not so obvious. That doesn't apply to Xaviant's The Culling, a lesson in greed in gaming.
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PostsAmidst the surging popularity of Fortnite, Xaviant ceased all development on the Culling to make a battle royale-centric "sequel." The result was a colossal failure, and while Xaviant took Culling 2 from stores after only eight days, the base game never truly recuperated.
5 Paragon
March 18, 2016 – March 19, 2018
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MOBA Released March 14, 2016 ESRB m Developer(s) Epic Games Publisher(s) Epic Games Engine Unreal Engine 4 Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Platform(s) PC, PS4 Powered by Expand CollapseThe triumph of Fortnite had many long-lasting effects on the game industry, both favorable and adverse. Regarding Fortnite's negative impact, Epic Games' third-person battle arena title, Paragon, was Fortnite's most unlucky victim.
Given the green light to do whatever they wanted, Paragon's development team had a lot of ambitious ideas. Lamentably, when Fortnite's battle royale was released in late 2017, Epic moved most of its developers over to Fortnite. The result was Paragon being left in the dust and never capitalizing on its vast potential.
4 Anthem
February 22, 2019 – February 24, 2021
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Action RPG 2.5/5 Released February 22, 2019 ESRB T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Language, Mild Blood, Use of Tobacco, Violence Developer(s) BioWare Publisher(s) Electronic Arts Engine Frostbite 3 Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Platform(s) PS4, Xbox One, PC Powered by Expand CollapseAt one point, BioWare was considered one of the sovereigns of the gaming industry. Even with how controversial Mass Effect 3's ending was, the lauded trilogy had brought the studio so much goodwill. While Mass Effect: Andromeda might've teased the start of BioWare's downfall, its shortcomings pale in comparison to Anthem.
Rather than developing a narrative-centric RPG (the genre they once revolutionized), BioWare decided to make 2019's Anthem a live-service looter-shooter. If Anthem accomplished anything, it showed BioWare that the live-service world isn't for them.
