I do not want new stuff every day, every hour, Mike.
Ybarra’s pseudo-apocalyptic observations came duringa chat with the Vergeabout all things Blizzy under new owner Microsoft.
Asked about Blizzard’s current approach to live service gaming, Ybarra noted that “players have no patience.
They want new stuff every day, every hour.
We’re trying to react that way while holding the Blizzard quality bar high.”
One obvious question is how to keep up that avalanche of New Stuff without making Bad New Stuff.
“We know players want new content literally almost every single day,” Ybarra went on.
“At the same time, it takes large teams to be able to deliver that.
So you have to monetize it in the right ways.
“We want to serve players with more content in our universes,” he added.
“At the same time, we want to confirm we’re responsible and meet their expectations.
I think we’re still fine-tuning a lot of those things as we go forward.
But it’s something top of mind for me as we go forward.”
Nor are they “afraid to create new IPs” or “turn models upside down.”
It’s interesting/harrowing to think about how live service games both react to and actively cultivate player behaviour.
I know, I sound like a scold.
I sign into the game regularly just to have a nice stroll through the game’s painterly countryside.
Perhaps there’s a tree I can live under there.
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