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FT editor Roula Khalaf picks her favorite stories in this week’s newsletter.
Could you play a single video game forever? There may not be endless books or endless movies, but there are games that people devote thousands, even tens of thousands of hours to. One Polish fan of sports strategy sim Football manager he holds the Guinness World Record for 10,887 hours spent on a single campaign – that’s 453 days.
He is not alone. Gamers today spend more time than ever playing old games. A study by Newzoo analysts showed that the 10 most played games of 2023 were released an average of seven years ago. Where gamers were once obsessed with new consoles with more advanced graphics, today technological advancements are less pronounced and older games are constantly being updated, so many gamers see no reason to change games. We are entering the world of forever games. But what does this mean for the future of the medium?
These titles have several features in common. They tend to lack linear stories that are less interesting once you see the ending. Rather, they offer systems that change every time you play: roguelike games such as The The Binding of Isaac and Spelunky; deck builders such as Kill the tower and Hearthstone; strategy games such as Civilization and Total war.
Then there is the deeper level of complex system games such as Dwarven fortress and RimWorld, which has legions of fans on the Internet who play nothing else. Eternal games often have active online communities, many of which create mods to improve the game’s graphics or gameplay. Other games that bring players back for long periods simply offer fun places to hang out; life simulations such as Animal Crossing or The Simsor open-world games such as grand theft auto or Skyrimwhere there is always something new to explore.
Despite drawing players back many years, these games are not at the top of the most played list in 2023. No, they are “live service games”, which are usually multiplayer games played online and regularly updated with new content. Most of them are free, but earn money with microtransactions. These are usually shooters, arena battles, or sandbox titles, games that drive brand recognition far beyond the player world: Roblox, Fortnite, Minecraft, Call of Duty.
These games strike a balance between a sense of comforting familiarity and an injection of freshness that comes with each update. Sometimes it brings dramatic changes: the recent “Loot Reborn” update for troublemakers Diablo IV was received so enthusiastically that one critic claimed that the developers had finally “fixed” the game. This month promises big new parts Final Fantasy XIV and Fate 2both of which attract loyal followings with complex stories unfolding over many years.
Some of the most profitable titles such as Fortnite and Roblox, are not just individual games, but platforms where players can create their own games for others to try. This means developers can profit from content they didn’t create. It also highlights the importance of community in live service games – sometimes you log in to complete missions and earn points, but you also show up just to chat with your friends in a virtual space that feels like home.
Over the past few years, many developers have tried to launch new Forever games to compete with similar ones Fortnite. As development costs rise, companies are naturally interested in producing titles that can generate long-term profits. However, it is punishingly difficult to get it right. Two tries with the superhero brand, from Marvel Avengers and DC Suicide Squad, were panned by fans and critics alike for trying to squeeze live service elements into games that didn’t feel natural. Even after a successful launch, it can be difficult to keep fans in: this year’s space shooter Helldivers 2 it initially looked like a contender for the eternal gaming pantheon, but a series of disruptive changes turned the fan base against the developer.
Big game companies are trying to build new games with live services with blind optimism. Meanwhile, today’s newest games have to compete not only with other new releases, but also with long tails of the most popular resource-rich games. In a time of mass layoffs and studio closures, developers will need to think carefully about the future of the industry and whether it is sustainable.
For players, the equation is simpler. They’ll just play whatever appeals the most, no matter how old it is. It’s refreshing to see a medium obsessed with novelty recognize that some things get better with age.