SSG is a gaming studio?

[Jummby]

SSG has been an independent gaming studio since around 2017 with the release of the Mist of Ravenloft.

So it's been about 7 years since they are a "gaming studio?

Don't gaming studios make new games, too?

Is SSG working on making anything new, like many other gaming studios?

Just curious.

 

[Striga]

Yeah, they are working on making new content for DDO and LOTRO.

 

[Dude]

SSG has been an independent gaming studio since around 2017 with the release of the Mist of Ravenloft.

So it's been about 7 years since they are a "gaming studio?

Don't gaming studios make new games, too?

Is SSG working on making anything new, like many other gaming studios?

Just curious.

SSG really isn't an independent gaming studio since their acquisition by Daybreak Games and EG7.

 

[Phoenicis]

Without SSG there would be no DDO, or LOTRO. Turbine was going to shut both games down. A group of the devs for both games banded together and got an investor to buy the IP & licenses from Turbine.

The fact the games both receive continued content updates is solely due to SSG.

Consider that when attacking the devs.

 

[saekee]

No they are a digitial drug manufacturer

 

[Sarlona Raiding]

SSG is just a division of a much larger company. New games are risky bets while producing new content for existing games is a much more reliable way to make money. I would think most of SSG's staff is devoted to new things and not just maintenance.

Whether it's a new game or new content it's new.

To the extent new games are devloped I would think EG7 puts them in a new company to make future dispositions easier.

 

[Br4d]

I think SSG is tied down by the IPL's.

They should dust off Asheron's Call or create a non-licensed game.

The problem is that there's no real market for MMO's right now. Everybody wants mobile games and those are for the birds.

 

[Arkat]

SSG really isn't an independent gaming studio since their acquisition by Daybreak Games and EG7.

This

 

[Elminster]

MMO's are a long and dead genre. At BEST gaming studios will do a multi-player like Diablo II, IV. But full blown 24/7 live service MMO's are a relic of the past.

Way too expensive, way too much risk.

 

[rabidfox]

The problem is that there's no real market for MMO's right now.

MMO's are a long and dead genre.

New MMOs are constantly being made and there's big markets and desire for them. Lots of gaming companies want slices of that cash cow. Plenty of them also fail and fold after a while, but there's never ending attempts to break into the market. https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/03/end-of-year-eleven-all-the-upcoming-mmos-to-watch-in-2024/ But sure, keep telling yourselves that MMOs are dead and undesired.

 

[Elminster]

New MMOs are constantly being made and there's big markets and desire for them. Lots of gaming companies want slices of that cash cow. Plenty of them also fail and fold after a while, but there's never ending attempts to break into the market. https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/03/end-of-year-eleven-all-the-upcoming-mmos-to-watch-in-2024/ But sure, keep telling yourselves that MMOs are dead and undesired.

Now compare that to all the other games coming out in the video game industry especially as a percentage of dollars invested. It's like less than 5%.

 

[rabidfox]

Now compare that to all the other games coming out in the video game industry especially as a percentage of dollars invested. It's like less than 5%.

So? Like the number MMOs released per year have ever been a huge % of the overall number of games released so of course they're also a small percent of total investment dollars. That metric means nothing. MMOs aren't dead, they're very much alive and constantly having new ones made too; claiming otherwise is just false.

 

[Cheeps]

SSG is dedicated to improving lag for DDO.

They are doing a good job, because there was less lag before they took over.

 

[Br4d]

New MMOs are constantly being made and there's big markets and desire for them. Lots of gaming companies want slices of that cash cow. Plenty of them also fail and fold after a while, but there's never ending attempts to break into the market. https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/03/end-of-year-eleven-all-the-upcoming-mmos-to-watch-in-2024/ But sure, keep telling yourselves that MMOs are dead and undesired.

We haven't had a smash hit MMO since FF14 was reset in 2011. That's a long time since a clear winner showed up on the scene.

We've had TESO, which had a huge following from the RPG series, especially Skyrim, and it didn't exactly bomb but it also did not have the successes of earlier hits.

We've had Neverwinter, which should have been a huge hit but essentially bombed.

We've had New World, which was backed by the huge pockets of Amazon and it barely managed to pull pedestrian numbers at launch and it has been trending downwards since then.

The market just isn't there for anything but a great product at this point.

 

[vryxnr]

So something must be a smash hit, breaking record and becoming world renown, or it's dead and not worth enjoying? Really? It wasn't said exactly like that, but that IS the false dichotomy being set up here, which is a silly and even nihilistic way to look at things imo.

Rabidfox isn't saying MMOs are still dominating the market and are everything, they are saying there is a market, it's just not the biggest one, but that doesn't mean it's "dead". Nuance. It is an important facet of life. There are more than just two opposing options to be had here.

 

[rabidfox]

We haven't had a smash hit MMO since FF14 was reset in 2011. That's a long time since a clear winner showed up on the scene

August 28, 2012 Guild Wars 2 release date... There's probably others but I don't really search for new MMOs myself.

 

[Falkor]

Pretty sure SSG is a dairy farm specializing in whale milking.

 

[Br4d]

August 28, 2012 Guild Wars 2 release date... There's probably others but I don't really search for new MMOs myself.

Even if this is so and it might be, you're still talking more than a decade now.

The MMO core population is aging wickedly at this point and the failure to produce MMO's that attract both vets and younger players is killing the archetype.

Somebody needs to make a low tech mid-range MMO with a great story line and cool mechanics. The story has to be good enough to draw people in and then it needs to be continued from x-pac to x-pac.

 

[vryxnr]

...and? MMO's are supposed to have long life spans. They are not "one and done" play for one month and move on to something new like many other games are.

All the above being true does not mean the genre is "dead" though, unless people are changing the definition of "dead" to be the current state of MMOs (which is more akin to coasting and still making money with a few new ones coming out every once in a while, just not as much as other genres with inherently shorter expected lifespans per game), which is disingenuous imo.

 

[rabidfox]

Even if this is so and it might be, you're still talking more than a decade now.

The MMO core population is aging wickedly at this point and the failure to produce MMO's that attract both vets and younger players is killing the archetype.

Somebody needs to make a low tech mid-range MMO with a great story line and cool mechanics. The story has to be good enough to draw people in and then it needs to be continued from x-pac to x-pac.

Destiny 2 - 2017
Lost Ark - 2018
And that's just 2 off a giant list of currently popular MMOs. Just because you or I don't play X or Y style MMO doesn't mean they aren't coming out all the time and attracting audiences. MMO core population is constantly getting added to too as new people start gaming; we've got some very young adults in Lava Divers, some old folks, and a bunch in-between. There's probably a ton of games out there that you'll never play (nor hear about) because you're in the wrong demographic for it, doesn't change that those games are out there and new ones keep coming out. Fun fact, ANET is working on Guild Wars 3. Other big companies are working on MMOs too. Go figure...