Rob Pardo, the executive vice president of game design at Blizzard, has started that he believes high-quality single-player-only titles are on their way out and that the biggest threats to their existence are new online oriented business models, ever present piracy and the fact that players can rent games rather than buy them.
The executive told GamesIndustry International that, “I don’t see there being a great business model for it these days. It’s really sad, there’s just a lot of elements out there that conspire to make those games difficult to make now.”
Renting and piracy are hitting AAA single-player games on the financial front, with publishers finding it harder than ever to recoup their investment.
Pardo added, “A big trend is connecting everyone in their games, be it a full online experience like World of Warcraft, or just being able to have a social experience with other people playing single-player games. You’re seeing all these sorts of elements being explored.”
The developer believes that even for single-player games companies need to make sure that gamers are able to share their experience quickly and easily.
Pardo is mostly involved with the MMO
World of Warcraft at the moment and his position on single-player games might be influenced by his experience.
The comments bring to mind statements from the leadership of Electronic Arts, which suggested that the publisher was no longer devoting resources to single-player-only titles.
Since then the company has clarified its position and revealed that single player can still be viable.
Blizzard has just launched the Mists of Pandaria expansion for World of Warcraft and is now focusing on delivering support for the game.
The company is also working on a new MMO, called Project Titan, which might get more details during 2013.
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