To say that single-player gaming is a proven successful business model would be an understatement, especially for publishers like Capcom, PlayStation and so on. The company continues to invest in big-budget titles like Marvel’s Wolverine, Intergalactic, and God of War Laufey, but that hasn’t stopped it from trying, yet again, with live service.
That’s despite low player counts for Marathon and Fairgame$ being mired in development hell since its announcement. Whether it finds success or not is the big question, but former Sony Interactive Entertainment America president Shawn Layden believes that single-player is ultimately what sustains the business.
In an interview with PSI, he said, “I firmly believe that single-player, narrative-driven gaming is here to stay. It’s how we built this business. That’s what sustains it. It’s a type of game you can enjoy by yourself and talk to friends about. Maybe there’s multiplayer, maybe there isn’t.
“But I think essentially most of our great gaming experiences are when we allow ourselves to be immersed in that world with that character, to learn that story, more so than ‘I got online with a bunch of friends, and we played team deathmatch.’”
This isn’t to say that social experiences like your first raid in Destiny 2 can’t be a source of memorable moments. But such titles are few and far between these days, especially in Bungie’s live-service shooter, which recently received its last content update in Monument of Triumph.
At the very least, the industry as a whole continues to churn out memorable single-player titles, even if triple-A development remains as tenuous as ever. As for PlayStation, it’s looking forward to the launch of Marvel’s Wolverine on September 15th, with God of War Laufey and Intergalactic potentially out next year.
And while Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, launching on August 6th, may be considered live service in a way, it also offers a pretty extensive narrative in Episode Mode. Head here for more details.
