PlayStation has announced the formation of a new studio, teamLFG, in a blog post outlining its desire to create a new live service game built and grown with a community of passionate players. teamLFG – it apparently stands for “Looking for Group” – originated within Bungie (Destiny), but has since corralled developers with experience shipping Halo, League of Legends, Fortnite, Roblox, and Rec Room.
With experienced developers across the United States and Canada now working on the studio’s debut title, PlayStation has high hopes for what they can achieve. teamLFG itself is excited to share its passion for “exceptional action-based gameplay, moment-to-moment game feel, and richly social virtual worlds.”
“We are driven by a mission to create games where players can find friendship, community, and belonging,” the team said. “We want our players to feel excited when they log on to discover their teammates already hanging out online. We want our players to recognise familiar names and to make myths and memes out of each other.”
“We want our players to love remembering that one time where they pulled off That Play that changed the whole story of the match. As we say on the team – dat’s da good stuff.”
Read: Firewalk Studios has been shut down, Concord cancelled
teamLFG aims to make “immersive multiplayer worlds” that players can “learn, play, and master for countless hours.” It’s also keen to get these players involved with its upcoming projects, with playtesting and feedback reportedly being “critical” for the team, and for the game as it continues to “grow … for years to come.”
The first game for teamLFG will be a “team-based action game that draws inspiration from fighting games, platformers, MOBAs, life sims, and frog-type games.”
PlayStation continues to pursue live service games
It’s likely this title is part of PlayStation’s wider commitment to expanding its live service offerings, although for that reason, there are plenty of questions about what’s to come. The formation of a new studio, and new opportunities for jobs in the games industry, should be worth celebrating.
But it’s fair to say there’s a persistent cloud over announcements like this one, given recent happenings within PlayStation, and to its live service offerings. In early 2022, PlayStation announced its intention to launch 10+ live service games by 2026. Since then, we’ve seen the launch and immediate failure of live service game, Concord, followed by the shut down of Firewalk Studios. We’ve also seen at least two of PlayStation’s unannounced live service games cancelled, one of which was reportedly a God of War spin-off.
Beyond PlayStation, there have also been a number of other high profile live service game failures recently, with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League being one of the most notable examples.
There are many possible explanations for this string of failures – but what it essentially boils down to is that games need to be good before they’re monetised, as intended. “Live service” as a label now has fairly negative connotations. There’s an assumption that players will be forced to spend money to enjoy the experience.
Some live service games are good! Helldivers 2 has been a shining example of a live service game done right. Its success can be explained. It’s a great game, before anything else – one that provides a rewarding gameplay loop in fun multiplayer skirmishes. Players fell in love with its world and its gameplay, and where they wanted to spend money on live service elements, they felt justified in doing so. Microtransactions aren’t obtrusive, and developers consistently reassured players that would remain the case.
There has to be a reason for players to spend money in games. They have to feel connected to a game world, to feel engaged and rewarded. In an decade where money is getting tighter on all fronts, a game announced as live service is a red flag for the more frugal. Even when a game is reasonably monetised, or where microtransactions are implemented non-obtrusively, there’s cause for concern.
We’ll have to wait to see what teamLFG is cooking – and faith is certainly underrated – but there will no doubt be some caution about what this studio has in the works. With the team spinning out of Bungie, it absolutely has the experience and talent to create something grand, but we’ll have to stay tuned to see what exactly that is.
