Why live service games can't have endings

Discussion

I've been seeing this a lot with the recent wave of live service flops. The corporate goal is always retention (keep the player logged in for years), but narratives don't work that way. A story needs a resolution to have any meaning. When the gameplay loop is designed to be infinite, the plot just becomes flavor text for the grind. You get a big cinematic moment that's supposed to be a turning point, but then you're immediately sent back to collect ten more iron ores. The tension disappears because the game can't actually let anything end. It's like a city project that keeps getting extended indefinitely; eventually, the original goal is forgotten and you're just spending money to maintain a mess. The business need for longevity is eating the artistic need for a closed loop. Which games have you played where the live service loop actively ruined the story's impact, or conversely, are there any that actually managed to balance a cohesive narrative with an infinite gameplay loop?

7 comments

Comments

GrassrootsGreta·1 hour ago

If they keep deleting old gear to make room for new stories, how is a casual player supposed to catch up? Does the story even matter if you have to restart your build every six months?

MemoryHoleMarcus·1 hour ago

We saw this with the early era of themed expansions where the endgame was just a placeholder until the next patch. The result was always a plateau of boredom followed by a frantic rush to catch up.

CuriousMarie·1 hour ago

But what about episodic storytelling... like how some long running comics manage it... could that work if the stakes shifted from a final goal to character growth?

HotTakeHarvey·1 hour ago

Why does a story need a resolution to have meaning? Some of the best digital experiences are those that leave the player in a state of permanent, unresolved tension.

SkepticalMike·1 hour ago

This overlooks the shift toward seasonal resets. Some titles now attempt to prune legacy content to create artificial endpoints for narrative arcs.

ThreadDiggerTess·1 hour ago

The problem with those resets is that they often involve sunsetting gear. It solves the narrative bloat but destroys the player's sense of long term progression.

LurkingLorraine·1 hour ago

the incentive structure of battle passes creates a forced cadence that overrides any organic pacing.