Live service games have had a meteoric rise in the past few years. The concept of a game that can remain on the market for years without needing to be replaced by sequels, all while bringing in a continuous stream of revenue from players logging on every day, would have any publisher salivating.
And to no one’s surprise, a large portion of publishers have pivoted to live service. Everyone wants the next Fortnite or Warzone, so they’re willing to try everything and see what sticks. Historically singleplayer publishers are now exploring live service as well, such as PlayStation, Square Enix, and most recently, Warner Bros. Games.
Expect More Live Service Titles Like Suicide Squad
During a recent conference at Morgan Stanley, JB Perrette, CEO of global streaming and games for WB Games, mentioned that most of their gaming business is centered around four major IPs – Mortal Kombat, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and the subject of this article, DC.
Speaking about their future plans with the IPs, Perrette said, “the opportunity is to take those four franchises and be able to develop a much more holistic approach, particularly around expanding into the mobile and multiplatform free-to-play space, which could give us a much better and consistent set of revenue.”
If that isn’t excruciating enough to hear, Perrette’s next statement will surely make any DC fan want to punch a wall:
Rather than just launching a kind of one and done console game, how do we develop a game around, for example, Hogwarts Legacy or Harry Potter, that is a live service where people can come today and live and work and build and play in that world on an ongoing basis?
Coming from the creators of brilliant and iconic singleplayer games like the Batman: Arkham trilogy and 2023’s Hogwarts Legacy, these statements are a bit of a gut punch.
WB Games Planned The Live Service Pivot Long Ago
However, this isn’t the first live service pivot announcement from WB Games.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav revealed last December that they were focussing “on transforming our biggest franchises from largely console and PC based with three-four year release schedules to include more always on gameplay through live services, multiplatform and free-to-play extensions with the goal to have more players spending more time on more platforms”.
Even though WB Games announced plans to launch more live service games back in December, many fans hoped they would consider changing strategies after the dismal performance of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League which, by WB Games’ own admission, failed to meet expectations.
Needless to say, the live service reaffirmation by the company has fans livid.
Horrible plan there's too much bad stigma over live service games. People don't even want to give games a chance due to it regardless of quality. Plus we've seen studios trying to milk fans with micro transactions shamelessly.
— Eddie (@OHMYDIAZ) March 5, 2024
convinced someone in that company is trying to destroy it slowly from the inside
— tyler (@lgk0e2) March 5, 2024
Hogwarts Legacy (single player) sold around 25 million copies, that’s around 2 billion dollars in revenue. And the Arkham series, another single player narrative focused sold 31 million copies.
On the other hand, SSKTJL (live service) flopped.
That’s easy math WB .
— pro (@king18pro) March 5, 2024
So the best selling game last year was hogwarts legacy made by them and they want to focus on f2p games????
— Chambo (@davidc98) March 5, 2024
I'm honestly shocked WB is still in business, I don't even remember the last good decision they've made.
— Drizzy4Rizzy (@Drizzy4Rizzy) March 5, 2024
Many valid points have been brought up in response to the announcement, chief of which concern the sales performance of WB’s latest live service game, Suicide Squad, which flopped spectacularly. Meanwhile, the singleplayer-only Hogwarts Legacy ended up the best-selling game of 2023. WB Games ignoring this achievement in pursuit of a cash cow live service game is disappointing.
While live service and mobile games do have the potential for scorching success, there are countless factors behind it that are outside the publisher’s hands. What WB Games is doing is disregarding established strengths. They’re the creators of the Batman: Arkham trilogy, which is still regarded by many as the greatest superhero games ever made.
Binning this tradition to follow money-hungry trends is a betrayal to their identity and fanbase, especially when they have first-hand experience of singleplayer winning out over live service. This decision values short-term profits over long-term artistic worth and jeopardizes their loyal audience who have appreciated the publisher’s singleplayer stories for years.
