Sequels used to mean one thing, and there was seldom any ambiguity around it.
Things aren’t quite so straightforward anymore. New titles like Overwatch 2 and path of Exile 2 may seem like standard fare, but they actually challenge the idea of what a sequel should be, blurring the line between sequel and expansion. For starters, both games will see their first and second iterations share the same client and player base; progress from the first game will carry over too.
SAME SAME, BUT DIFFERENT
Online games live and die by the number of players on their servers, so this strategy actually makes sense. Overwatch players will be able to play with those who have bought Overwatch 2, and they’ll receive the same content updates, with the exception of pvE content. Similarly, path of Exile 2, which is also free-to-play, will launch as an update that you can download instead of a separate game.
Furthermore, when you’ve spent hundreds of dollars of real money on in-game items and cosmetics, it can be a real shame to leave it all behind when a sequel comes out. This sequel-as-expansion model lets players continue to enjoy their investment, while offering new content.
A variant of this idea has also been implemented on Destiny 2 and Fortnite as well. Destiny 2 today is quite a different beast from when it first launched in 2017. The massive Forsaken update reworked major aspects of the game, adding a ton of new content including new pvp maps, new special abilities for each class of Guardian, and plenty of new gear to grind for. The recent Shadowkeep expansion adds further depth to the game, and you now get even deeper customisation of your Guardian’s stats, among other things.
Fortnite chapter 2 is similarly a huge rework of the game, featuring a completely new map and a sprawling list of new additions like weapon upgrades, Npc opponents, and new mechanics like the ability to pick up your fallen teammates and carry them around.
These regular updates are arguably part of a new gamesas-a-service model. Instead of static products, games are now living, protean worlds that players can get even more invested in, since they know the game will be around for a long time.
CONSTANT EVOLUTION
Another benefit of this approach is that the development team can actively focus on making the game better and more interesting, instead of coming up with a completely new take that may not be as well-received. Just look at Warframe, which has gotten steadily better over the years and shows few signs of flagging. A sequel can be accused of being stale and iterative, but an expansion packaged as a sequel might be lauded for introducing much requested features and improvements, while still generating the same hype as a traditional sequel with the right marketing.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have call of Duty, which expects players to flock from sequel to sequel like clockwork. This year’s Modern Warfare for example has drawn unfavourable comparisons with previous call of Duty games. Furthermore, I can’t say that I’m thrilled about the idea of Modern Warfare being replaced by 2020’s call of Duty, since I’m actually having a really great time with the game. If Modern Warfare were to be updated like Fortnite or Overwatch, I’d be very, very happy indeed.
It’s so much easier to push an update online today, either as a free content drop or a paid expansion / sequel.
Not everyone is going to be happy about the idea of a game lasting so long and changing so much. There will always be a certain nostalgia for the way a game used to be, which is why World of Warcraft classic is so popular.
However, it’s 2020, and this new flavour of continuous sequels could very well be the future.
IN THE FUTURE EVERYTHING CAN BE A GAMING MACHINE
So much of our lives are already in the cloud. Our emails, photos, documents, and even backups live in the cloud. and very soon, so will our gaming devices.
In an interview last year, Yves Guillemot, the cEO of ubisoft said that traditional game consoles will soon go the way of the dodo bird and that cloud gaming is inevitable. He predicted that there will only be one more game console generation and after that, gaming will become platform agnostic.
The idea of cloud gaming is simple. A server sitting somewhere in the world handles all of the heavy processing and streams the game to whatever device you want to play on. It can be a TV, a notebook, a desktop, or it can even be a tablet or a phone.
This solves two longstanding problems of traditional triple-A game titles. These games typically need powerful hardware to play which are usually a) expensive and b) not portable. cloud gaming solves these two problems elegantly and opens up these triple-A titles to a new market of gamers.
All you need is a steady and fast internet connection and you can turn any device into a gaming machine. Imagine being able to play the same console or desktop version of call of Duty on your phone instead of a simplified watered-down variant.
THE GAME CHANGERS
Obviously, the biggest name in cloud gaming now is Google. Google introduced its cloud gaming service, Stadia, in November last year. Stadia claims to stream games up to 4K at 60fps with support for high-dynamic-range. Early reviews have been mixed, with some criticising the quality of the visuals and others about pricing and games library. However, there’s no doubt that the underlying technology works. reviewers could play games like Borderlands 3 on their TVs using just a tiny chromecast dongle.
Another big player in this arena is Microsoft. Its project xcloud is currently trialing in selected regions. Microsoft is taking slow and steady, but it believes it will have the edge thanks to its large library of games and one of the largest networks of data centres globally.
A widespread network of data centres is crucial to the success of a cloud gaming service. While outright connection speeds or bandwidth is important, equally important is latency. Using a pipe as an analogy, bandwidth is the measure of the width of the pipe; how much data can be sent through it. Latency would be the speed at which the pipe can send its contents from one end to the other end, and a shorter pipe means a lower latency. Singapore already has some of the fastest internet connection speeds in the world, but latency continues to be an issue that gamers suffer.
Sony too, has had a cloud gaming service called playStation Now since 2014. Unfortunately, playStation Now hasn’t quite taken off because of a lack of server infrastructure. Sony knows they can't sit on their laurels any more, so they're leveraging on the strengths of another party, even if it is a direct rival, and using Microsoft Azure.
There are also rumours that Amazon and Apple are both exploring cloud gaming initiatives. With so many of heavyweights of the tech and gaming world throwing their clout behind cloud gaming, the days of traditional gaming consoles and desktops could very well be numbered. And considering that we already now consume our music and movies thanks to the cloud, there’s no reason why this isn't the future for games too.
END OF THE CONSOLE?
There are still some kinks and obstructions to iron out. Fast internet is still a luxury in many places and even those with faster broadband, there's still data limits to contend with. Singapore is lucky in the sense that our fixed broadband is fast, comes without data caps, and is relatively affordable. However, mobile data is pricey in comparison and only the highestend plans have no data caps. This will place some restrictions on how gamers can take advantage of cloud gaming services. Still, it’s quite safe to say that gamers here have it better than most others in the world.
