A new report from game market research company Griffin Gaming Partners states that 95% of game manufacturers are developing or maintaining real-time service games. The 2023 Game Development Report, produced in partnership with RenderedVC, surveyed 537 studios around the world. The survey defines live service as any regular update cadence planned for a game.
Among those surveyed, 66% believe real-time services are necessary for the long-term success of games. The report pointed out that the traditional game development cycle is two to three years, while real-time development takes more than five years.
"Years of game development have resulted in production processes and pipelines designed to deliver a few key milestones in what is essentially a waterfall process. However, development in live services is a state of constant planning and adjustment of game parameters to enhance the player experience, while designing and deploying new features to add new player value," the survey report said.
Additionally, the report adds that the live services team wants to publish content faster.
"Across the industry, the ideal production schedule reported by Live Services teams is a weekly to bi-weekly cadence of live operations, with game content updates every two weeks to monthly. In the context of game development, which often spans multiple years, Live Services production schedules are advancing at a breakneck pace."