The future of gaming is looking bleak, my friends. As we move towards a service-based model, the days of single-player-story-driven games are numbered. Instead of quality games that can be cherished a generation later, we’re being sold on the idea of games as a service, much like the old syndicated network programming on television.
One of the major “yearly” companies that used to release a sixty-dollar game every year will slowly transition towards becoming the first “season-based” game provider. They will never actually release another game again. Instead, they’ll renew each offshoot of the game, such as “WW2” and “MW,” each becoming its own “show” renewed every “season.”
But let’s be real, this shift towards a service-based model isn’t because of the industry’s desire to create quality, timeless games. It’s a recognition that they don’t have what it takes to make games that players will cherish years down the line. Instead, they’ll churn out games that only last a season, a few months at best, before players move on to the next hot multiplayer game.
The way things are going, gamers barely want to play a game several months after its release before moving on to the next big thing. And that’s the motivation to push gaming in this direction, towards a service-based model where players are always paying for the latest content. It’s all about what’s hot at the moment, and the industry is only too happy to oblige.
For those of us who prefer the single-player-story-driven experience, there’s not much hope. Console gamers who match this archetype will be pushed online, forced to play indie games and old classics on their PCs. It’s game over for Mario if Luigi ain’t with him.
The future of gaming is looking more and more like a grim dystopia, with only the biggest and most lucrative franchises surviving the shift towards a service-based model. It’s a far cry from the days when games were designed to be enjoyed and cherished for years to come.
But let’s not give up hope just yet. There will always be a place for quality, single-player-story-driven games, even if they become harder to find. As gamers, it’s up to us to demand better from the industry, to show them that we value quality over quantity and that we won’t settle for games that only last a few months.
Who knows, maybe one day the industry will listen to us and give us the games we truly deserve.
