At what point did “games as a service” stop meaning “ongoing support” and start meaning “eternal grind”?
Live service games promised longevity. More content. Ongoing development. Support that didn’t stop at launch. But what we actually got was a cycle of shallow updates, disappearing content, and the kind of daily grind that feels more like a job than entertainment.
Some of the big ones still keep players playing. Destiny 2 has excellent shooting and high production value. But every expansion comes with content vaulting, limited-time gear, and a seasonal structure that punishes anyone who takes a break. You miss a week, you fall behind. You miss a season, you might lose access to storylines you paid for. Logging in becomes a chore just to keep up.
Fortnite is another example. Epic mastered the formula: rotating skins, live events, seasonal themes. It runs smoothly, and it’s constantly refreshed. But even the most loyal players feel the pressure. Miss a week, and you’re behind. Skip a season, and everything changes. The pace never slows down. You can’t relax into a game like that. You have to chase it.
Games like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone operate the same way. Storefronts constantly update with timed bundles. Game modes come and go. Battle passes introduce new currencies and cosmetics every couple of months. You’re never finished. You’re just in the middle of whatever comes next.
Plenty of games tried this model and didn’t last. Anthem was one of the most high-profile failures. It launched unfinished, had no direction, and folded within two years. Babylon’s Fall barely made it out of the gate. Marvel’s Avengers had brand recognition and money behind it, but that didn’t stop the player base from dropping off quickly. All of them were built around the promise of continuous updates. None of them delivered anything worth staying for.
Developers don’t get a break either. A live service model means there’s always something due. Patches, events, cosmetics, new mechanics. The work never stops. Halo Infinite was meant to be the future of that franchise. Instead, it launched with missing features, delayed content, and a half-empty roadmap that alienated long-time fans.
A few games manage it well. Warframe is one of the better examples. Updates are consistent, and the developers are open about what’s coming. The grind is real, but at least there’s some vision behind it. Sea of Thieves also stuck to a focused idea and has grown steadily without throwing away everything players built up. These are exceptions. Most studios copy the business model without thinking about the experience.
Endless updates are only part of the issue. The bigger problem is how the entire game is structured around them. Live service games are built to keep you active. Everything is structured around engagement. You’re meant to log in every day. Complete checklists. Unlock skins. Climb ranks. Repeat. If you stop, the system leaves you behind. And when you do finally quit, you realise nothing you did actually mattered. The servers might go down. Your progress might be wiped. Even the content you paid for might disappear without warning.
Older games respected your time. You played through them. Maybe replayed them. There was a sense of closure. Live service games never end. They just keep going until people stop caring.
And when they do, the whole thing gets shut off.
Which of your live service games are still installed?
