Most gamers prefer single-player games

It’s no secret that the bulk of AAA games market revenues come from in-game purchases, mostly from live-service games.

It’s also impossible to ignore that the live-service market is fiercely competitive. Thanks to the oversaturated attention economy, only so many consumer hours are available.

And live-service games suck up so much attention and engagement. There are still opportunities in the space, but breaking through is extremely challenging.

With every new live-service hit that does manage to carve a spot for itself, there is less space available for new entrants to cast their net.

AAA developers on console and PC are continuing to chase the live-service jackpot, but single player remains the favourite way to play for most (53%) gamers.

There is also less risk, as there are more openings on the calendar for single player to stand out versus live service’s always-on engagement vacuum.

MIDiA's latest gaming report looks at the growing viability of(re)allocating resources towards single-player games.

We zoom in on gameplay preferences by platform and age, motivators for trying new games, preferred game themes for puzzle, action-adventure, sports, shooter, and RPG fans, and offer data-backed strategic recommendations.

This article shines the spotlight on some high-level takeaways from the first section of the report. If you’re ready to dive deeper, let us know.

Several single-player studios were pushed into making live-service games – the trend chasing did NOT pay off

Many AAA game makers have been chasing the live-service trend, looking to replicate the success of Fortnite, League of Legends, Roblox, and other success stories.

Even developers that rose to prominence thanks to single-player – with games that helped put their publishers on the map – were pushed to chase the live-service trend. 

For many, it was a wild goose chase, and the list of failures is growing. SEGA cancelled Creative Assembly’s Hyenas and PlayStation did the same thing for Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Online after years of development.

Other revered single-player names in the industry have tried their hand at live services – with dire results: Crystal Dynamics (Marvel’s Avengers), EA’s BioWare (Anthem), Platinum Games (Babylon’s Fall), and Microsoft’s Arkane (Redfall) – the list goes on.  

This underlines an undeniable opportunity cost:

• These studios’ single-player offerings have respectively generated hundreds of millions in revenue
• How much revenue and positive consumer sentiment was left on the table because these companies were pushed to make live-service games?
• Aggravating things, the market is too delicate for most publishers to take huge risks in an oversaturated space

Hitting a few singles and doubles beats trying to hit a home run and striking out.

The timing of live service’s oversaturation is not ideal. Publishers now need to cut costs to adapt to a challenging macroeconomic climate (and to course correct from overextending during the pandemic).

There's a way forward for these studios: returning to what has always worked, single-player games

While new live-service games have floundered, new single-player games have continued to smash records and generate hundreds of millions – or more.  And it is not just juggernaut IP like Zelda and Spider-Man proving successful but also new franchises like Elden Ring (25 million copies sold) and Black Myth Wukong (20 million).

While live-service games and in-game purchases dominate spending and attention in the games market, over half of gamers prefer solo play: 

There are some caveats to this opportunity and how best to seize it. Data from the above image, which you can dive deeper into via the full single-player opportunity report, underlines a positive correlation between age and preferring single-player:

• Beyond younger generations’ higher emphasis on social play, life starts getting busier in the mid-20s
• Life commitments make it trickier to play live-service games regularly, and co-ordinating sessions with friends becomes more challenging
• To that end, the 25+ gamers are the lowest-hanging fruit to target with single-player games

Looking for splits by platform, region, or another variable? Let us know – we have the data!

The one-and-done nature of single-player gels better with the saturated attention economy

Younger players prefer PVP, which captures a large swathe of consumer attention and engagement and is enjoyed by all generations. Convincing players – and their friends – to leave for new titles is a huge barrier.

Live-service games are the homes of many highly engaged players. Getting them (and their friends) to relocate permanently to another live-service game is a big ask.

Yet, going 'on holiday’ to a single-player game is more viable. Releasing in quieter periods for the big live-service games, like towards the latter part of the live-service seasons, could be beneficial here.

It is also easier for busier 25+ gamers to dip into a single-player game – perhaps even on a supporting device like the Steam Deck or PlayStation Portal.

Single-player games are a safer bet for new games

Make no mistake: the costs to make AAA single-player, non-live service games have inflated to astronomic levels. Leaks from Insomniac showed that PlayStation’s AAA flagship games, like Spider-Man 2, have budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But there is a growing opportunity for AAA studios to make leaner single-player games.

Despite the extra risk, live-service games can be even more expensive. After launch, they also need significant additional costs to run over time (and keep their players coming back to spend). Genshin Impact’s budget was $100 million, with another $200 million per year needed for live-ops costs.

For many AAA publishers making new games, it might be time to course-correct from the red live-service ocean to the bluer single-player one – or at least shift some more resources to solo experiences.

The insights in this article are the tip of the iceberg of the full report, which also looks at what exactly gamers are looking for in new games, what drives them to purchase, low-hanging fruit for publishers, and more.

Want to learn more? Reach out to us here.