It seems that MMO shooters like Destiny or The Division are partly responsible for the crisis with “normal” shooter titles like Call of Duty.
Conventional Shooter Franchises in Crisis
The industry is currently scratching its head. The autumn offensive among shooters before the Christmas season seems to have failed. Call of Duty – a safe bet in recent years – has not sold as well as expected. Titles like Titanfall 2, Dishonored 2, and Watch Dogs 2 have also not made the revenue that was hoped for.
The numbers are alarming. Titanfall 2 earned 75% less in the UK than its predecessor, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is down 48% compared to its predecessor, Dishonored 2 is down 38%, and Watch Dogs 2 made 80% less in its first week than the first Watch Dogs at the same time.
“Games as a Service” like Destiny or The Division could be to blame
Analysts have determined that one reason for this crisis is that other shooters are adopting the model “Games as a Service.” We at Mein-MMO.de call many of these titles “MMO Shooters.”
“Games as a Service” means that the game is updated and maintained repeatedly over a long period. Updates, patches, DLCs, and expansions are released for the title. They remain relevant long after release and keep players engaged. These titles encourage fans to regularly check back when a new update comes out.
Examples of such models include shooters like Destiny, The Division, Overwatch, or GTA Online.
Reasons for the Crisis Among Classic Shooters
The business site Gamesindustry has taken up the topic and spoken with some analysts. One from “IHS” believes it is a shift in the gaming landscape. There are now fewer releases of AAA games. The games industry is trying to keep players engaged with a game for longer and to obtain money from them away from the releases. This is a structural change towards digital distribution, which impacts “conventional games” and retail.
The data firm Kantar Worldpanel supports this and notes that players are buying fewer games than before, but playing them for longer.
The analysts consider “Games as a Service” at least partly responsible for the “Shooter Crisis 2016.” Other reasons are that the games have individual problems.
Problems are also self-made
Titanfall 2 was released in a “sandwich situation” between two other titles. Dishonored 2 has always been a niche title. Call of Duty has been on the decline for a long time. The first Watch Dogs was so overestimated beforehand and then disappointed so much that the successor is still paying the price.
Evidence that not only the “long-term” titles are responsible for the crisis of the shooter quartet is Battlefield 1 – it is doing excellently.
Is the WoW phenomenon repeating itself here?
Mein-MMO says: It is a phenomenon that some have lamented since the WoW days. World of Warcraft, the MMORPG, was so enormous at one point that it engaged millions of players for years. They then became customers for other RPGs or also for computer game magazines since they were only interested in WoW.
The PC and classic RPGs have experienced such a phenomenon, so now consoles and shooter fans could be facing the same issue.
Last year at this time, the situation for shooters looked quite different:
Shooter Christmas: Xbox One and PS4 both want to be THE shooter console
