Single-Player Games Aren’t Going Anywhere, According to Cory Barlog
God of War director Cary Barlow recently spoke to IGN about the modern notion that single-player games are dying. And despite what many people claim, Barlog is confident that there’s still a place for story-driven single-player games.
“Single-player games are the phoenix at this point,” he said. “We go through the ebb and flow. Games change by the different creatives that get involved and say, ‘I have this crazy idea.'”
Barlog talked about the current battle royale craze headed by games like Fortnite and PUBG, and although he acknowledges the popularity of such games, he doesn’t think they are ruining the potential for other kinds of game experiences like God of War.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean that anything else goes away, it simply says that’s the thing we’re paying attention to,” he said.
And although competitive games are definitely popular right now, they’re not for everyone.
“I don’t want to work on any games that don’t have some kind of story component because that is the draw for me,” Barlog said. “Competition doesn’t drive me. It’s not to say that competition is bad, it’s not to say that competitive games are bad because I love that those that exist, but it’s not my thing.”
At the end of the day, Barlog believes that there will always be enough room for both single-player and multiplayer games, and the popularity of each kind of game will rise and fall depending on what’s popular at the present.
“It’s not about a competition between multiplayer and single-player,” he said. “It’s not about any of them being alive or dead, right? It is Schrödinger’s cat. We are alive and we are dead at the same time, right? And we will always be that way. And it will be an ebb and flow throughout time.”
Other people, such as Forbes’ Dave Thier, believe that single-player games are dying to an extent. And although Thier still believes they will stick around, he suggests that games-as-service can provide experiences just as powerful as single-player experiences.
“But we’ll see less of publishers like EA and Activision committing to giant one and done projects,” he wrote. “That’s alright. Games-as-service can be just as entertaining and powerful as their single-player counterparts. It’s just a change.”
What do you think? Let us know if in the comments section!