As Mat Piscatella of NPD notes, many of the mainstays are live service games with some sort of social component. Even if a game isn’t primarily based in online play like Fortnite or Among Us (I’m looking at you, Sims 4 and Animal Crossing), a robust social community can bolster its lifespan for years after launch. “Traditional” single player games face stiff competition for players’ money and attention, especially as the number of games available each year continues to balloon on every major platform.

Some games have gone harder on microtransactions as a result, but poorly implemented monetization can cause massive player backlash. Development studios have tried to ensure their survival by putting their games on subscription services like Game Pass or by signing timed exclusivity deals with the Epic Games Store in exchange for a lump of development cash upfront (a move so contentious that studios have to ask players not to harass developers).

Piscatella tweeted: “These services are another tool in the belt for trying to get games funded, released, and to help them break through the barriers of the big evergreen titles.”

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