The video game industry has changed dramatically due to the rise of games-as-a-service. Developers are increasingly following profits rather than the desires of players. According to a former Bend Studio employee, the main role in this is played by the greed of publishers, and especially Sony.
Today, many studios are chasing either photorealistic open worlds or games-as-a-service designed for long-term earnings. Yes, this approach brings more money than single-player projects: constant updates, events, and content keep the audience engaged. But gradually, this is destroying the foundation of the industry.
Profit is necessary, but when it becomes the only goal, creativity suffers. Sony has made a name for itself with strong story-driven games, and that's what fans expect. But the company is moving in a different direction, focusing on services.
A former Bend Studio developer noted that executives are selling the idea of games-as-a-service to investors as more profitable: for the budget of one The Last of Us Part II, you can launch dozens of Overwatch analogs.
"For the cost of one The Last of Us 2, you could make about 10 Overwatches, and from those 10 Overwatches, you could make another 80 Overwatches."
But Sony itself admits that the strategy is faltering. More than half of its games-as-a-service have already been canceled. Failures have also befallen other studios: Bungie's Marathon is still in a problematic state, and the company's head recently resigned.
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Cover art by: Haven. Cover art source: Tech4gamers
