Liveservicespel dominerar spelarengagemanget på PS5 och Xbox

New data from Circana analyst Mat Piscatella highlights the ongoing dominance of live-service games.

According to the Circana Player Engagement Tracker:

Over 70% of US active PS5/XBS players played at least 1 of the top 10 live service games of the month during January. More than 40% of all time spent playing on PS5/XBS in the US during January went to those same top 10 live service games.

Piscatella noted that players used to move from one big game to another, often purchasing new titles. Now, however, live-service games consume much of their available time. "It's hard to beat free if it's good," he observed.

Industry Struggles to Compete

The report underscores the challenges faced by other studios trying to break into the live-service market. Games like Fortnite, Minecraft, League of Legends, and Roblox continue to dominate playtime. Meanwhile, many new live-service titles have struggled or failed to compete with these established franchises.

A 2023 Game Developer Collective survey found that 70% of developers had concerns about the sustainability of live-service games. The biggest concerns were players losing interest and competition from other live-service titles.

Another report from Newzoo revealed that games at least six years old accounted for over 60% of playtime in 2023, with Fortnite leading across all platforms. The top five games – Fortnite, Roblox, League of Legends, Minecraft, and GTA 5 – made up more than 25% of all gaming hours played.

Sony's Live-Service Struggles

Sony has faced challenges in the live-service space. Last month, the company canceled two in-development projects from Sony Bend and Bluepoint. This followed the high-profile shutdown of Concord just two weeks after launch.

Even successful live-service games are not immune to industry struggles. Despite the buzz around Marvel Rivals, Chinese publisher NetEase recently laid off a number of the game's developers in the US.

Piscatella suggests that the industry needs positive surprises and strong new releases in 2025 to shift these trends. With major launches like Nintendo's Switch 2 and GTA 6 on the horizon, it remains to be seen whether fresh titles can shake up the dominance of live-service games.