In accordance with recent US-oriented data
As we embark on a new year during a notably significant time for the gaming industry as a whole, it appears that a particular segment of live service games is currently leading the Xbox & PlayStation charts—at least in the United States.
This insight is based on fresh information shared by research firm Circana (NPD), whose executive director noted that over 40% of total playtime on Xbox and PlayStation in January 2025 was dedicated to the top 10 live service games on these consoles, with more than 70% of players engaging with at least one of them.
The exact titles in this list have yet to be fully disclosed, but it certainly seems that Call of Duty, Fortnite, ROBLOX, Marvel Rivals, and GTA Online are among them. Ultimately, these titles are capturing a large audience across Xbox and PlayStation.
Piscatella mentions in a follow-up post that historically, players would transition from “big game to big game” that they had actually purchased, but nowadays, live service games “consume a substantial amount of available time”—often at no cost as well.
“It used to be that players would jump from big game to big game to explore new titles they had actually invested in. Now, the live service games drain a significant amount of time, and it’s tough to compete with something that’s free if it’s quality. So, here we are.”
Strangely, despite the triumph of these specific live service games, they are not exempt from layoffs—just a week ago, it was announced that Marvel Rivals could be reducing its workforce. Additionally, live service isn’t a guaranteed triumph for any developer, as many games have shut down their servers over the years—with MultiVersus being a recent example.
Nonetheless, the reality remains that if executed correctly, live service has the potential to be extremely lucrative in today’s landscape.
What do you think about this live service craze on Xbox & PlayStation?