5 Live Operations Strategies to Enhance Video Game Audiences

Anton Zlobin, Senior Manager, Brand Intelligence at Sperasoft, a Keywords studio, details the key steps involved in ensuring your Live Operations strategies are keeping your audiences engaged.

Author: Anton Zlobin, Senior Manager, Brand Intelligence at Sperasoft, a Keywords studio

Date Published: 09/08/2024

At the core of any successful video game lies a robust development plan aimed at maintaining player engagement far beyond the initial release date. The Fortnite series, EA FC 24 and Helldivers 2 are all prime recent examples of developers and publishers dedicating substantial resources towards post-release or live operations strategies. These strategies require regular updates to gameplay which significantly influences production planning and processes. As a result, development teams are often split between live operations and traditional development tasks.

To ensure the smooth release of high-quality DLC (downloadable content for video games after their initial release), developer studios or publishers frequently partner with co-development studios. This allows the primary development team to focus on refining the base game while the co-developers manage the planning and development of DLC. This approach ensures players receive consistent updates to their favourite games, all while conserving the publisher's time and resources. There are numerous examples which demonstrate how live operations can elevate a game to new heights. Let’s explore some of these in more detail.

Frequent Content Updates

Engaging players in a video game initially involves captivating gameplay and robust functionality, but maintaining their interest requires regular, high-quality content updates. Frequent expansions and the introduction of new elements enhance engagement. The live operations team essentially creates a new game within the existing framework, owing to a unified and strategic approach from game designers, programmers and artists. Player feedback and data analysis are crucial in ensuring the game remains enjoyable for players and that their feedback is being heard. Live content and DevOps support are essential, as the production team must manage multiple versions of the game simultaneously. Planning and implementing content well before release is crucial, requiring active project management involvement to ensure smooth operations and timely updates.

Innovation and Community Engagement

For established games, enhancing graphics with new technologies can generate excitement, attract old players, and build a loyal community among newcomers. Recent projects upgrading to new technologies have seen millions of players returning and staying. For example, Fortnite’s transition to UE5 and Hunt:Showdown’s update to CryEngine 5.11 has significantly boosted player engagement.

Console support for previous generations may be impacted, but best-in-class optimisation can mitigate this. Transitioning to open engines can facilitate porting games to multiple platforms, thus expanding the market. Alternatively, implementing modern rendering technologies can achieve substantial visual improvements, as demonstrated by the team here at Sperasoft with Saints Row:The Third Remastered, which offers impressive visuals and runs on the Nintendo Switch.

Maintaining Server Stability and Monitoring

Live operations support must be available 24/7 to accommodate players worldwide and tackle any issues surrounding response times, latency and stability. These games rely on complex IT infrastructures which require constant monitoring and periodic maintenance. A dedicated team, such as a Network Operations Center (NOC), must monitor infrastructure and application performance around the clock. The NOC team quickly addresses any issues to minimise impact and prevent outages.

Ensuring Quality with Functional Testing

The increasing scale of modern AAA projects extends development time and may necessitate changes in approach or mechanics, even close to release. Releasing a game of the highest possible quality requires thorough testing by QA professionals, including manual and automated testing. Functional Testing (FT) teams examine the game from unique perspectives, identifying abnormal scenarios and providing valuable feedback to the development team. Experienced FQA engineers are essential for tracking and fixing bugs, especially in later stages when player numbers make comprehensive testing challenging. Delegating this task to co-developers with skilled Functional Testers saves time and allows the development team to focus on critical tasks.

Adapting Monetisation And Listening To Players

The success of a live service game depends on player-friendly monetisation systems that seamlessly integrate into the game design, encouraging purchases and motivating players to continue. Organic monetisation can enhance the game universe for players worldwide.

According to Sensor Tower’s game development industry report, in-game events significantly impact revenue generation and user retention. For example, Pokémon Go’s "Timeless Travels!" event increased revenue by 250% within three days, validating the importance of Live Ops and events for retaining and monetising users.

Through all of this, it is crucial that player feedback is accounted for. Here at Keywords Studios, our LiveOps and Player Support teams act as an extension of yours, operating around the clock to help ensure the evolution of your game post-launch, and that the needs of your players are being met.

Get in touch with our teams via the form below!