Live service games have become increasingly popular in recent years, allowing developers to create a constantly evolving experience for players. However, in order to stay relevant in a cutthroat industry where every AAA developer is striving to make brilliant live-service titles, companies need to ensure that these games are updated frequently with new and interesting content to keep audiences engaged in the long run. Whether it be in the form of new levels, characters, or game modes, the important thing is to keep a steady stream of content going so that players don't get bored — something that many successful live-service video game developers have nailed to great effect.
Failing in this crucial goal can eventually lead to player burnout and ultimately lead to the game being forgotten, even if it initially commanded a powerful presence in the industry. Any live-service game with lackluster updates and key issues that remain unaddressed leads to a dwindling player base, which has served as the definitive nail in the coffin that sent many titles in this genre to the shadow realm. In today's gaming landscape, it's essential for live service games to keep up with the competition and consistently deliver fresh and exciting content to stay relevant, and it's a shame that the following games royally dropped the ball in this regard.
6 Halo Infinite
The Halo series is one of the biggest sci-fi FPS series around, featuring a wealth of titles with captivating stories that have proven to be quite engaging indeed. The latest title in the series, Halo Infinite, was highly anticipated despite its previews not looking quite promising. Upon release Halo Infinite's single-player was a pretty decent upgrade from the usual fare... but it's the live-service model this game adopted for its multiplayer that failed to keep players interested.
The game's lackluster customization options and limited content at launch left players feeling underwhelmed, leading to low player counts in the months following release. Additionally, the game's battle pass system has been criticized for being too grindy and not offering enough meaningful rewards, with 343 Industries striving hard to patch out the more contentious parts of this design. However, the damage was already done, and Halo Infinite's multiplayer is pitifully barren despite the legendary stature of the series.
5 Tom Clancy's The Division
Tom Clancy's The Division is easily the most unfair pick on this list since the main reason why this game is barely afloat is because the bulk of its player base shifted over to the sequel instead. It didn't help that The Division features the classic false marketing approach by Ubisoft, with the game's reception being pretty poor upon launch because of missing features and unbalanced gameplay.
The game's live-service model ultimately failed to keep players engaged, with many complaining of a lack of any engaging endgame content and a confusing loot system. This, coupled with broken and frustrating PvP, led to Ubisoft releasing a sequel that fixed all of these issues instead of working on the first game, which was a smart decision in hindsight... even if it left The Division struggling to maintain a decent player base.
4 Splitgate
Splitgate is easily the best title on this list by a country mile in terms of gameplay, with its unique combination of portal mechanics and first-person shooting garnering a lot of attention. However, the game became so big that the humble developers behind the scene found it extremely challenging to scale up their servers to meet this demand.
Realizing just how much work would be involved to keep this game afloat, 1047 Games announced that they would stop working on Splitgate and shift their attention to another new title instead. While this change was understood by the wide gaming community, that didn't make it any less disappointing that this amazing FPS wouldn't get the support it deserved.
3 Knockout City
The idea of playing a wackier and more action-packed version of dodgeball in memorable levels and environments certainly sounds like a recipe for success and contributed to Knockout City's strong launch. The game was lauded for its fun and innovative mechanics, amassing a decent player base that loved everything the title had to offer.
Unfortunately, despite its strong launch, it was clear that Knockout City simply didn't have the means to sustain its longevity as a successful live service game. The servers will be shut down in June, although developers have promised that private servers will allow fans of the game to still mess around with their friends as they bash and knock players around with a wealth of unique and interesting balls.
2 Star Wars Battlefront 2
The first two Star Wars Battlefront games were a blast in every way, and it was clear that EA had their work cut out for them if they wanted to live up to the success of the original series. Unfortunately, pay-to-win mechanics and lackluster content led to the first game being reviled across the board.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 tried to gloss over these issues and start anew but was plagued with controversy from the start. The game's implementation of loot boxes and lack of any meaningful content further angered fans, leading to a response by an EA developer becoming the most disliked comment in Reddit history. Despite efforts to improve the game's live-service model over time, including the removal of microtransactions, the damage had already been done, and player counts remain relatively low for a Star Wars game to this day.
1 Red Dead Online
Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the greatest single-player open-world games of all time, and expectations were sky-high for its online component. After all, this was the same company that made GTA Online, which is one of the most popular multiplayer titles around that is absolutely jam-packed with content.
Unfortunately, despite its strong start, Red Dead Online's live-service model has struggled to keep players engaged. The game's slow pace of updates and lack of substantial content updates left players feeling bored and underwhelmed, leading to low player counts. The fact that the game constantly makes headlines for its in-game protests criticizing Rockstar's favoritism of GTA Online is a testament to how badly Rockstar dropped the ball with this open-world title.