We are currently immersed in the age of service games, where the focus is on providing constant updates and new content to keep players engaged for months or even years. The goal is to maintain a steady revenue stream over an extended period by preventing players from moving on to other games. Despite the appeal of this strategy to game studios, the market is saturated with service games, leading to only a few achieving significant success while many struggle to retain an audience.
Challenges Faced by New Releases
Capcom’s Exoprimal, launched in July 2023, has notably failed to attract a substantial player base on Steam months after its release. In contrast, other titles from Capcom such as Monster Hunter: World and Monster Hunter Rise have enjoyed substantial player numbers. Similarly, Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad, released in January 2024, has encountered difficulties in maintaining player engagement.
Success Stories Amidst the Struggle
Amidst these challenges, success stories like Helldivers 2 have emerged, with a peak of over 345 thousand simultaneous players on Steam. However, such success remains an exception as newer games continue to struggle to compete with established favorites on the platform. The list of most played games on Steam reflects a preference for familiar titles like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and GTA 5, suggesting that players tend to stick with what they know for prolonged periods.
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