The announcement of a new live service game frequently sends unpleasant shivers down my spine. "Oh no, here we go again," I think, as I steel myself for the inevitable disappointment where potentially good ideas are once again sacrificed on the altar of trend-chasing by a creatively bankrupt publisher. As a treat, I might go on a wee rant. A dash of cynicism. A pinch of melodrama. Job done. But sometimes a game like Helldivers 2 comes along and I'm forced to remember that, actually, there's absolutely nothing wrong with live service games. Pity me.
I've been hooked on what we now call live service games for almost as long as I've been gaming. Before we had this gargantuan umbrella term, I was ignoring homework and monopolising the family PC while living it up inside MUDs and MMOs. The latter remains an obsession I just can't shake, but now I spend as much time in games like Path of Exile and Warframe—different genres, different philosophies, but still built on this idea of persistence, community and continual developer support.
