Strategy games have long been on the decline – and there are reasons for that. Gamers increasingly want to think less and less.
When looking at the gaming market, there are several genres that have become increasingly less visible over the years. Particularly strategy games have almost completely faded into obscurity after the recent resurgence of games like StarCraft II, turning them into a niche genre.
There are still games like Stellaris or Europa Universalis – but they exist more in the background and cater to genre enthusiasts.
The blame for this trend does not lie with developers, who simply do not make good strategy games anymore – but rather with the interests of the players. This conclusion comes from a survey conducted over nine years with over 1.5 million players.
Getting increasingly unpopular: game genres that include Europa Universalis:
Where does the result come from? Quantic Foundry has been asking players about their motivations for playing games over the past nine years. Various points were offered for selection, such as:
- Imagination
- Story
- Destruction
- Discovery
- Strategy
The summary of strategy read as follows: “Players who score high on this point enjoy games that involve careful decision-making and planning. They like weighing their options and thinking through different outcomes.
These decisions may be related to balancing resources, competing goals, managing diplomatic relations, or finding optimal long-term strategies.”
Examples of such games with tactical components include XCOM, Fire Emblem, as well as Civilization or Cities: Skylines.
What did the survey reveal? While most motivations have changed little, strategy has seen a different trend. The report states:
67% of today’s players are less interested in strategic thinking and planning when playing games compared to the average players in June 2015.
Furthermore, it states:
“It is obvious that players have developed less interest in strategic thinking over the last nine years.” This would “imply that gamers today are more easily cognitively overloaded when playing games and therefore tend to avoid strategic complexity.”
What could be the reasons? The survey does not provide analyses or evaluations as to why strategic thinking among players is becoming increasingly unpopular. It merely highlights the trend that has been observed over the past years. Various theories that are conjured in the comments include:
- Reduced attention span and generally shorter gaming sessions that require more direct action and less long-term planning.
- Due to the difficult world situation, a lower willingness to “think about the future.”
- Many issues in the “real world,” making players less inclined to deal with complex problems in games.
Ultimately, it is hard to say which reasons are truly responsible for the reduction in interest. But perhaps you have some ideas or can even answer why your interest in strategic gaming has decreased.
