We know that publishers are forever chasing the next big live-service title following the juggernaut successes of titles like Fortnite, League of Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone. Titles that are developed to live and grow - both in terms of player count and revenue for the publishers.
Last month in the US, gamers spent over forty percent of their playtime on ten live-service titles across PlayStation and Xbox. According to well-known video game industry analyst, Mat Piscatella on Bluesky who references the Circana Player Engagement Tracker. Furthermore, "Over 70% of US active PS5/XBS (Xbox Series) players played at least 1 of the top 10 live service games of the month during January."
Piscatella also went on to say: "[It] Used to be that players would jump from big game to big game to some other games but they were most often to moving to something new. That they purchased... Now, the live service games suck out a ton of available time, and it's hard to beat free if it's good."
So, what titles are people playing? The latest data Piscatella refers to was not obtainable at the time of writing this article. However we were able to secure the data from the week ending 8 Feb 2025. You won’t be surprised to see the top-10 across consoles below. The list includes the stalwarts of Call of Duty HQ (including Black Ops 6 and Modern Warfare 2 & 3); Fortnite; Grand Theft Auto V/Online and Marvel Rivals. Also sitting in the top-20 charts on both consoles are titles available in PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions.
The picture on PC is different to console, which is not unusual. Although there are many big console hitters in the PC top-20, titles such as Counter-Strike 2, Path of Exile II and Rust are very popular on PC.
Whilst we see mega success for live-service titles, we have seen many fail. Server closures have been a common trend for titles that fail to retain a viable player base. Just yesterday we reported Dauntless is the latest to announce its server closure. The industry is going through radical change in terms of how people consume video games. This leaves publishers trying to extract every last penny from your wallet, and minute from your gaming time. The metrics of success have shifted significantly from simply game sales. Whilst there is some negative stigma around live-service games amongst gamers, it is important to remember that so many are free to play, which opens up the hobby to those less fortunate. These gamers expand the player base of big games and help the industry to grow for the next generation.
Do you play many live-service titles? Are they harmful for the industry or do they promote steady growth for publishers? Let us know your thoughts in the GSC comments!
