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#Is the Single Player FPS Dead?
Single player FPS is historically one of the most popular genres of games. But is the genre dead in 2019?
Single player first-person shooter (FPS) games make up some of the best video games ever made: Doom, Far Cry 4, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Bioshock Infinite, etc.
However, when's the last time you remember a single player FPS came out? Or even a multiplayer FPS game that had a decent single player campaign?
If you're struggling to come up with an answer to those questions, you're not alone. The single player focus of FPS games is dying with more of a focus on the multiplayer aspect of the games.
But why? Let's look at some of the reasons why single player FPS is dying, but also why the genre is not completely dead yet.
The Business Issue
The video game industry is worth almost 79 billion dollars. It's big business. So when companies realized that multiplayer games had the potential to make more money than many single player games, the industry shifted.
Let's take a look at some of the business aspects of this shift from single player to multiplayer FPS.
The Game Itself
Multiplayer games have built-in marketing. If one gamer buys it, it isn't fun for them unless all their friends buy it.
So what do they do? They give free marketing to the game by getting all their friends to purchase, and then all their friends, etc. It's a perfect way to generate heaps of revenue form one game.
Multiplayer games also have the advantage of continuous play. Single player games will be completed by the gamer and likely not picked up again, which means more revenue generation from that game after the initial purchase is unlikely.
Multiplayer, on the other hand, can continue to make money through updates to the game, continuous play, upgrades, subscriptions to play online, etc.
Accessories
Multiplayer games also require more accessories to play. From the gaming headset to particular controllers to subscriptions for online play (like we mentioned earlier), a multiplayer game can generate revenue from multiple sources, unlike single player games.
These accessories can be branded for the game as well, which earns even more profit.
eSports
eSports, also called competitive gaming, is emerging as a leading industry with millions of fans worldwide. And which games are some of the most popular for eSports?
Multiplayer games.
This gives even more incentive for businesses to create multiplayer over single player games, especially considering eSports competitions boast some of the highest audience retention rates for broadcasts, as well as a whopping 43% of fans saying they're highly receptive to ads they see during these events.
Combining Single Player FPS with Multi-Player
We're seeing more multiplayer focused games because of the things we just went over, but that doesn't mean you should declare single player FPS as dead.
Most multiplayer games include a single player campaign alongside the multiplayer aspect of the game. While the quality of these campaigns is questionable, they still exist.
SP FPS Isn't Dead... Yet
While single player FPS games aren't completely dead, they definitely have one foot in the grave. Unless gamers create the same demand for single player games that multiplayer games have, you might be looking at the final era of epic single player shooters.
Nowadays, some of the best SP FPS games are indie games. Check out some of your options on our site.
