It is not an exaggeration to say that the industry is saturated with direct service games. from Fortnite and Call of Duty who World of Warcraft and Marvel RivalsThese games run the gamut of genres: first- and third-person shooters of the classic and hero variety, ARPGs, MMORPGs, battle royales, and, of course, gacha games. While these games are quite different, they all have at least one thing in common: they are incredibly addictive. As a long time MMO fan playing a story history World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy 14, Guild Wars 2And further, I am not immune to this fact.
Between seasonal updates and limited-time events, live-service games are a time sink that continues to sink. While one of these games would be enough to fill the schedule, each additional live-service game played compounds the problem until they find themselves in a seemingly inevitable daily grind. With more and more games adopting live-service models, the FOMO only grows – and my free time can't handle it.
A top-rated and multi-award-winning game I couldn't help but enjoy
Despite its many awards and reception to exceptional players, one game never captured me as much as I had hoped, until I finally gave in.
Inevitable Whirlpool is that live-service game
Battle passes, seasons, and limited-time events, oh my!
The live-service game is built for continuous, indefinite engagement through the development of new content. While most games these days receive post-launch support in the form of updates, bug fixes, and even DLC, that doesn't make them live services. Unlike traditional games, which have defined lifetimes, live-services are content mills that, ideally, keep running and always make money. If the game has regular updates, seasons, events, or similar content, it's probably a live-service game.
Now, let me run through one of my typical game days. I start by hopping on Hearthstone to clear daily, weekly, and event quests (which have been near-constant for the last few months) so they don't go to waste. So, it's time to complete my daily challenges Overwatch 2 To finish the current season's Battle Pass, and to progress through any events (there's almost always at least one going on at any given time). After that, it is AFK tripWhere I run a loop of daily activities, and possibly work through whatever new seasonal story or side quests are available.
Finally, it's time to boot up an MMORPG or two. Final Fantasy 14 Recently released the 7.4 content update, but World of Warcraft: Legion Remix I have been choking since it started last October. It finally expires on January 20, only to be replaced by World of Warcraft: Midnight A pre-expansion update, which is sure to consume more of my time.
Then, I have to divide between the time left Dungeons and Dragons Campaign preparation and homebrew, single-player games, and “normal” activities like work, eating, exercising, sleeping, and spending time with my loved ones. What's more, I used to use more games in this rotation last year; i played Fate: The Grand Order For years until the beginning of 2025, and I only left it when Warcraft Rumble Went into repair mode.
Frankly, I don't have time for anything else. While I still love World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 And all the rest, at some point, the content mill got so busy that it completely monopolized my schedule. Maybe it's because I have less time now than when I was younger, maybe games are pumping out more content, or maybe it's both. All I know is that I feel relieved when games hit a content drought – which is the opposite of what should happen.
A look at my Steam replay from 2025 illustrates this problem. ignoring Fantasy grounds (I play D&D (twice a week for five hours each session, plus preparation time), one can see that I devoted relatively little time to single-player games. Except for brief and unsuccessful attempts to get inside Cyberpunk 2077 and Convergence: A League of Legends StoryOf the still incomplete run Split Fiction With my partner, and sink fast Hades 100% Achievements Before the sequel, these are the only single-player games I completed this year:
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (180 hours)
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (70 hours)
- Deltarun Chapters 3 and 4 (12 Hours)
- turned pale (12 hours)
I just went back inside Hades 2 Again three months later, now that Wow: Army Remix Ending, and Final Fantasy Tactics: History of Ivalice Still waiting patiently in my Steam library. What's worse, there are other live-service games that I don't have time to catch, either, eg Diablo 4 and Guild Wars 2. I'd love to get into them, but these other live-service games have me on edge, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing anymore.
FOMO: The real problem with live-service sports
The poison of having fun with gaming
At its core, the real problem with live-service games is FOMO, or “Fear of Missing Out.” Live-service sports run on FOMO; Complete this Battle Pass or that in-game event or risk losing out on special items, currencies, progress, or more – possibly forever. It's a dangerous weapon, and most live-service games run blindly.
FOMO is a compulsive disorder whose main symptoms are addiction and burnout. The more people are exposed to it, the more they feel compelled to keep grinding. After all, what if they need that new one Fortnite x Adventure Time skin in the future? It's a cycle that repeats itself until playing these games turns from a hobby into a job.
Unfortunately, it probably isn't going to get better anytime soon. Take a look Minecraft, Call of Dutyor Fortnite It only takes one look at how profitable live-service games are, and every corporation wants a piece of the pie. Worse, I'm not likely to change course anytime soon. Beyond the fact that I literally write about these games for a living, I still love them. But like Sisyphus, I am chained to this hellish live-service treadmill of my own creation. I just need to remember that I control the speed at which the treadmill runs.
Anyway, I have to start on my dailies before I miss the chance to get some more pixels that I can't live without.
- issued
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November 23, 2004
- ESRB
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T for Teens: Blood and gore, crude humor, mild language, suggestive themes, alcohol use, violence (online interaction not rated)
- Engine
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Unreal engine
