The live service refers to the process of continuously updating a game after launch to keep players invested, adding new features, items, stories and more – and it has become an increasingly profitable model for developers and publishers across the industry. It is not without controversy, however, with high-profile releases like BioWare’s Anthem being released with remarkably little content, and the Marvel Avengers failing to recover their costs after failing to delight their audience at launch.
No specification is provided, but we can assume that the next Back 4 Blood will include live service elements, given its modular nature online. Likewise, any future WB-owned NetherRealm Mortal Kombat and Injustice games would likely incorporate live service elements, as they have done in recent iterations.
What is less clear is that other announced WBIE games could include similar ideas and to what extent. The publisher is currently working on Hogwarts Legacy, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, none of which have externally announced live elements.
The upcoming Gotham Knights of WB Montreal apparently will not be part of that effort – their developers previously told IGN that it was “very not designed as a game as a service “, and will tell an independent story, rather than an evolving narrative.We contacted the WBIE for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
It was not so long ago that we were debating the future of WBIE as a whole, until the parent company AT&T announced that it was no longer looking to sell the company, after considering it “too valuable to download”.
Joe Skrebels is the Executive News Editor at IGN. Follow him on Twitter. Do you have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Send an email to [email protected].