The director of PUBG: Battlegrounds, Taeseok Jang, has offered his perspective on recent failed launches in the industry. He mentioned cases like Sony's Concord, which shut down in two weeks, and Highguard. Jang noted that, while disappointing, these stumbles are part of a high-risk sector. For him, the crucial thing is to extract lessons and ask what could have been done differently, a reflection he applies even to his own studio's misstep with PUBG: Blindspot.
The technical and design complexity in live services 🤔
Developing a successful live-service game involves balancing multiple technical and design factors from the start. It requires not only a stable and scalable codebase but also game design that retains players long-term and a sustainable content plan. Mistakes in monetization, a lack of a clear hook, or persistent technical issues can cause the audience to abandon it quickly, as has been seen. Long-term planning is key, but adjusting in real-time to the community's response is equally decisive.
The trend of launching games just to archive them 😅
It seems there's a new booming category: limited-edition games. You launch the title, receive some lukewarm reviews, watch the player base evaporate in days, and then promptly announce server shutdowns. It's like a pop-up store, but digital and much more expensive. Perhaps they should include a label with Expiration: 2 weeks after launch in the store. At least players would know they are purchasing an ephemeral experience, almost a collective memory.