With the successes found with recent single-player game launches such as Black Myth Wukong and Astro Bot, a research firm has shared a study that shows 53% of gamers prefer single-player games.
Black Myth Wukong and Astro Bot Usher In Revitalized Single-Player Game Scene
Single-Player Genre Has Found Success With Recent Releases
According to a study conducted by research and analysis firm MIDiA Research, 53% of gamers prefer single-player games, a genre that has seen a recent revitalized interest with PlayStation's recent hit title Astro Bot, along with previous acclaimed releases like Black Myth Wukong, Sekiro, and Spider-Man, among others. Additionally, this chunk of the player demographic in the study consisted of older gamers aged 25 upwards. MIDia Research also found that younger gamers leaned more towards multiplayer games like Fortnite, Roblox, and other online games that thrive on multiplayer experiences.
The data, gathered from 2023 to 2024, which MIDiA Research used in its study involves gamers from various countries, such as the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Poland, Turkey, and South Africa. As likewise observed by the research firm, most major game companies have made tremendous pushes into the live-service gaming scene, which runs on online multiplayer games, like Sony's Helldivers 2. "Many AAA game makers have been chasing the live-service trend, looking to replicate the success of Fortnite, League of Legends, Roblox, and other success stories," MIDiA Research stated in its blog post.
The firm further suggested that the Triple-A games market is "facing growth issues," and that "developers are facing pressure to become leaner, more profitable, and take fewer risks." It further added that "many game makers, including those that found initial success in single player, have been chasing the live-service trend." In MIDiA Research's "The single-player opportunity" study, it argued that a probable solution would be "returning to what has always worked, single-player games," as these games are "less risky, often less costly, and are still the preferred method of play for most gamers. And they do not have to cost hundreds of millions of dollars to resonate with players."
Though MIDiA Research acknowledged and noted that there are exceptions to the general "singe-player games cost less" principle, noting that "the costs to make AAA single-player, non-live service games have inflated to astronomic levels," They added, "Leaks from Insomniac showed that PlayStation’s AAA flagship games, like Spider-Man 2, have budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But there is a growing opportunity for AAA studios to make leaner single-player games."
"The timing of live service’s oversaturation is not ideal," they added, especially in the current climate of today's gaming industry, where layoffs and studio closures have been happening left and right. "Publishers now need to cut costs to adapt to a challenging macroeconomic climate (and to course correct from overextending during the pandemic)."
While the firm found that more recent live-service games have "floundered," single-player games that have been released as of late have "continued to smash records and generate hundreds of millions – or more." "And it is not just juggernaut IP like Zelda and Spider-Man proving successful," it added, "but also new franchises like Elden Ring (25 million copies sold) and Black Myth Wukong (20 million)."
The firm also suggested that as life "starts getting busier in the mid-20s," committing to playing live-service games becomes less feasible among older gamers who tend to have more spending power. "To that end, the 25+ gamers are the lowest-hanging fruit to target with single-player games," MIDiA Research concluded.
Source:
MIDiA Research: The single-player opportunity
