I’m Stuck On a Live-Service Battle Pass FOMO Treadmill, And I Don’t Know How To Get Off
It is not an exaggeration to say that the industry is saturated with live-service games. From Fortnite and Call of Duty to World of Warcraft and Marvel Rivals, these games run the gamut of genres: first- and third-person shooters of the classic and hero variety, ARPGs, MMORPGs, Battle Royales, and, of course, gacha games. While these games vary drastically, they all share at least one thing in common: they are incredibly addictive. As a long-time MMO fan with a storied history playing World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy 14, Guild Wars 2, and more, I am not immune to this fact.
Between seasonal updates and limited-time events, live-service games are a time sink that keeps on sinking. While one of these games would be enough to fill one’s schedule, each additional live-service game one plays compounds the issue until they find themselves in a daily grind that seems inescapable. With more and more games adopting live-service models, the FOMO only continues to grow – and my free time simply cannot handle it.
The top rated and multi-award-winning game I couldn’t seem to enjoy
Despite its many awards and exceptional player reception, one game couldn’t truly capture me the way I hoped, until I finally gave in.
The Inescapable Whirlpool That Is Live-Service Games
Battle Passes, Seasons, and Limited-Time Events, Oh My!
A live-service game is one built for continuous, indefinite engagement through the development of new content. While most games nowadays receive post-launch support in the form of updates, bug fixes, and even DLC, that does not make them live service. Unlike traditional games, which have defined lifespans, live-service ones are content mills that will, ideally, keep going and making money forever. If a game has regular updates, seasons, events, or similar content, it is probably a live-service game.
Now, let me run through one of my typical days of gaming. I start by hopping on Hearthstone to clear daily, weekly, and event quests (which have been near-constant for the last few months) so they are not wasted. Then, it’s time to complete my daily challenges in Overwatch 2 to finish the current season’s Battle Pass, and progress through any events (there’s almost always at least one running at any given time). After that, it’s AFK Journey, where I run the loop of daily activities, and possibly work through whatever new seasonal story or side quests are available.
Lastly, it’s time to boot up an MMORPG or two. Final Fantasy 14 recently released the 7.4 content update, but World of Warcraft: Legion Remix has had me in a chokehold since it began last October. It finally ends on January 20, only to be replaced by the World of Warcraft: Midnight Pre-Expansion Update, which is sure to consume even more of my time as well.
Then, what time I have left must be split between Dungeons and Dragons campaign prep and homebrew, single-player games, and “normal” activities like chores, eating, exercising, sleeping, and spending time with my loved ones. What’s more, I used to have even more games in this rotation last year; I played Fate: Grand Order for years until early 2025, and I only quit it when Warcraft Rumble went into maintenance mode.
Quite frankly, I don’t have time to do anything else. While I still love World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 and all the rest, at some point, the content mill became so busy that it monopolized my schedule completely. Maybe it’s because I have less time now than when I was younger, maybe games are pumping out too much content, or maybe it’s both. All I know is that I have been feeling relieved when games reach content droughts – which is the opposite of what’s supposed to happen.
One look at my Steam Replay from 2025 illustrates this problem. Ignoring Fantasy Grounds (I play D&D twice a week for five hours each session, plus prep time), one can see how comparatively little time I put into single-player games. Besides brief and unsuccessful attempts to get into Cyberpunk 2077 and Convergence: A League of Legends Story, a still-incomplete run of Split Fiction with my partner, and a quick dip into Hades to 100% the achievements before the sequel, these were the only single-player games I completed this year:
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (180 hours)
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (70 hours)
- Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4 (12 hours)
- The Pale Beyond (12 hours)
I only just got back into Hades 2 again after three months, now that WoW: Legion Remix is coming to an end, and Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is still waiting patiently in my Steam library. What’s worse, there are other live-service games that I haven’t had time to catch up on, either, like Diablo 4 and Guild Wars 2. I want to get to them, but these other live-service games have me by the throat, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing anymore.
FOMO: The Real Problem With Live-Service Games
The Poison That Drains the Fun From Gaming
At its core, the true problem with live-service games is FOMO, or the “Fear of Missing Out.” Live-service games run on FOMO; complete this Battle Pass or that in-game event or risk losing out on exclusive items, currencies, progress, or more – possibly forever. It’s a dangerous weapon, and one that most live-service games wield indiscriminately.
FOMO is a predatory disease whose main symptoms are addiction and burnout. The more one exposes themselves to it, the more they feel compelled to keep grinding. After all, what if they need that new Fortnite x Adventure Time skin in the future? It is a cycle that repeats itself until playing these games transforms from a hobby into a chore.
Unfortunately, this probably isn’t going to get better any time soon. One look at Minecraft, Call of Duty, or Fortnite is all it takes to see just how profitable live-service games are, and every corporation wants a piece of the pie. Even worse, I’m not likely to change my course any time soon, either. Beyond the fact that I literally write about these games for a living, I still love them dearly. But like Sisyphus, I am bound to this hellish live-service treadmill of my own creation. I just need to remember that I control the speed at which the treadmill is moving.
Anyway, I should get started on my dailies before I miss the chance to get some more pixels that I can’t live without.
- Released
-
November 23, 2004
- ESRB
-
T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence (online interactions not rated)
- Engine
-
Unreal Engine
