Despite the extreme success of great single player experiences like Elden Ring, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Hogwarts Legacy, Black Myth: Wukong and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II – while live service ventures like Redfall and Concord have struggled considerably – the giants of the gaming world continue to be focused on the live service concept.
And that would be understandable if that was what the absolute majority actually wanted to play. Now the analysis company Midia Research presents a survey that reveals that 53% of all gamers prefer to play single player. And then you have to remember that the rest are not online, but local co-op was also an option (respondents could choose more than one answer) for the respondents and reached an average of around 20%. In a summary Midia writes:
“And live-service games suck up so much attention and engagement. There are still opportunities in the space, but breaking through is extremely challenging. With every new live-service hit that does manage to carve a spot for itself, there is less space available for new entrants to cast their net.
AAA developers on console and PC are continuing to chase the live-service jackpot, but single player remains the favorite way to play for most (53%) gamers.”
They also claim that the cost of developing single-player titles has increased enormously, but that live service can still be a bigger risk because the costs are even higher and also ongoing after launch. Midia concludes that it may be time to go back to more single player again:
“For many AAA publishers making new games, it might be time to course-correct from the red live-service ocean to the bluer single-player one – or at least shift some more resources to solo experiences.”
Are you surprised by the results, and what do you most prefer to play by yourself if given the same options as the survey respondents; PvE, local co-op, online PvP or single player?