GamerBraves
  • News
    • All
    • 3DS
    • All
    • Android
    • Anime
    • AR
    • Battle Royale
    • Beta
    • BlackBerry
    • Closed Beta
    • Comic Book
    • Concert
    • Console
    • Cookbook
    • Demo
    • Desktops
    • DLC
    • Dota 2
    • Early Access
    • Epic Games Store
    • esports
    • Event
    • Exclusive
    • Expasion
    • Feature
    • Film
    • First Impressions
    • Gadgets
    • Gaming Laptop
    • Giveaway
    • Guides
    • Industry
    • Interview
    • iOS
    • Laptops
    • Launched
    • Linux
    • Mac
    • Malaysia
    • Manga
    • Merchandise
    • Mobile Games
    • Mobile Phone
    • Movie
    • Music
    • New Games
    • News
    • Newsletter
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch (Platform)
    • NSFW
    • Open Beta
    • Opinion
    • Origin
    • PC
    • pin to top
    • PlayStation VR
    • Podcast
    • Pre-registration
    • Preview
    • PS4
    • PS4 (Platform)
    • PS5
    • PS5 (Platform)
    • PSVita
    • Reviews
    • Rumour
    • Shut down
    • Soft Launch
    • Sponsored
    • Stadia
    • Steam
    • Streaming Series
    • System Update
    • Tablet
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Tech
    • Television
    • Theme
    • Tournament
    • Unboxing
    • Uncategorized
    • Update
    • VR
    • VTuber
    • Windows
    • Windows Phone
    • Xbox One
    • XBox One (Platform)
    • Xbox Series X
    • XBox Series X (Platform)
    remake

    GamerBraves Newsletter vol. 78 – What Makes A Good Video Game Remake

    Valiant Hearts: Coming Home

    Valiant Hearts: Coming Home Arrives on Netflix End of January

    Honkai Star Rail Beta

    Honkai Star Rail Commences its Final Closed Beta

    granblue relink second trailer

    Granblue Fantasy: Relink Debuts Second Trailer With New Playable Characters

    granblue fantasy versus rising

    Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Revealed With 2023 Worldwide Launch

    octopath II Hunter Apothecary

    Octopath Traveller II New Trailer Features The Hunter and The Apothecary, Collector’s Edition Revealed

    powerwash Tomb Raider

    Powerwash Simulator Gets Tomb Raider Crossover Later This Month

    Putra Aria Brand Awards

    ASUS Wins Two Gold Awards at The Putra Aria Brand Awards 2022

    Mummies

    Mummies Review – Mummy Music? Time to Wrap

  • Reviews
    • All
    • 3DS
    • All
    • Android
    • Anime
    • AR
    • Battle Royale
    • Beta
    • BlackBerry
    • Closed Beta
    • Comic Book
    • Concert
    • Console
    • Cookbook
    • Demo
    • Desktops
    • DLC
    • Dota 2
    • Early Access
    • Epic Games Store
    • esports
    • Event
    • Exclusive
    • Expasion
    • Feature
    • Film
    • First Impressions
    • Gadgets
    • Gaming Laptop
    • Giveaway
    • Guides
    • Industry
    • Interview
    • iOS
    • Laptops
    • Launched
    • Linux
    • Mac
    • Malaysia
    • Manga
    • Merchandise
    • Mobile Games
    • Mobile Phone
    • Movie
    • Music
    • New Games
    • News
    • Newsletter
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch (Platform)
    • NSFW
    • Open Beta
    • Opinion
    • Origin
    • PC
    • pin to top
    • PlayStation VR
    • Podcast
    • Pre-registration
    • Preview
    • PS4
    • PS4 (Platform)
    • PS5
    • PS5 (Platform)
    • PSVita
    • Reviews
    • Rumour
    • Shut down
    • Soft Launch
    • Sponsored
    • Stadia
    • Steam
    • Streaming Series
    • System Update
    • Tablet
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Tech
    • Television
    • Theme
    • Tournament
    • Unboxing
    • Uncategorized
    • Update
    • VR
    • VTuber
    • Windows
    • Windows Phone
    • Xbox One
    • XBox One (Platform)
    • Xbox Series X
    • XBox Series X (Platform)
    remake

    GamerBraves Newsletter vol. 78 – What Makes A Good Video Game Remake

    Valiant Hearts: Coming Home

    Valiant Hearts: Coming Home Arrives on Netflix End of January

    Honkai Star Rail Beta

    Honkai Star Rail Commences its Final Closed Beta

    granblue relink second trailer

    Granblue Fantasy: Relink Debuts Second Trailer With New Playable Characters

    granblue fantasy versus rising

    Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Revealed With 2023 Worldwide Launch

    octopath II Hunter Apothecary

    Octopath Traveller II New Trailer Features The Hunter and The Apothecary, Collector’s Edition Revealed

    powerwash Tomb Raider

    Powerwash Simulator Gets Tomb Raider Crossover Later This Month

    Putra Aria Brand Awards

    ASUS Wins Two Gold Awards at The Putra Aria Brand Awards 2022

    Mummies

    Mummies Review – Mummy Music? Time to Wrap

  • Interviews
    ea pga tour interview

    EA Sports PGA Tour Interview: The Developers Aim To Making The Best Looking Golf Game Possible

    hakken

    An Interview With Hakken: Insight From Malaysia’s Top Cosplayer

    mappa interview

    MAPPA Staff Manabu Otsuka, Makoto Kimura, and Yuichiro Hayashi Discuss Taking Over ATTACK ON TITAN From WIT STUDIO In New Interview

    Atomic Heart Publishers 4Divinity Talks About Game Publishing in Southeast Asia and Asia in Interview

    Atomic Heart Publishers 4Divinity Talks About Game Publishing in Southeast Asia and Asia in Interview

    Diablo 4 Interview with Rod Fergusson and Joe Shely – Crafting a non-linear, understandable, long-term career in demon hunting

    Diablo 4 Interview with Rod Fergusson and Joe Shely – Crafting a non-linear, understandable, long-term career in demon hunting

    dragon quest treasures interview

    Dragon Quest Treasures Interview: Producer Taichi Inuzuka Gives More Info On Erik’s New Adventure

    Apple’s App Store Awards Winners Talk PTSD, Good Mobile Controls And Just Being Horrifying

    Apple’s App Store Awards Winners Talk PTSD, Good Mobile Controls And Just Being Horrifying

    kento yamazaki

    Alice in Borderland Interview: Arisu Actor Kento Yamazaki Tells Us What We Can Expect From Season 2

    Marvel’s Midnight Suns Interview with Jake Solomon – On writing established characters, and changing the tactical formula

    Marvel’s Midnight Suns Interview with Jake Solomon – On writing established characters, and changing the tactical formula

    Trending Tags

    • CareerBraves
    • Media Partners
      • Wanuxi
      • Gamer Santai
      • GamerWK
    No Result
    View All Result
    • News
      • All
      • 3DS
      • All
      • Android
      • Anime
      • AR
      • Battle Royale
      • Beta
      • BlackBerry
      • Closed Beta
      • Comic Book
      • Concert
      • Console
      • Cookbook
      • Demo
      • Desktops
      • DLC
      • Dota 2
      • Early Access
      • Epic Games Store
      • esports
      • Event
      • Exclusive
      • Expasion
      • Feature
      • Film
      • First Impressions
      • Gadgets
      • Gaming Laptop
      • Giveaway
      • Guides
      • Industry
      • Interview
      • iOS
      • Laptops
      • Launched
      • Linux
      • Mac
      • Malaysia
      • Manga
      • Merchandise
      • Mobile Games
      • Mobile Phone
      • Movie
      • Music
      • New Games
      • News
      • Newsletter
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch (Platform)
      • NSFW
      • Open Beta
      • Opinion
      • Origin
      • PC
      • pin to top
      • PlayStation VR
      • Podcast
      • Pre-registration
      • Preview
      • PS4
      • PS4 (Platform)
      • PS5
      • PS5 (Platform)
      • PSVita
      • Reviews
      • Rumour
      • Shut down
      • Soft Launch
      • Sponsored
      • Stadia
      • Steam
      • Streaming Series
      • System Update
      • Tablet
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Tech
      • Television
      • Theme
      • Tournament
      • Unboxing
      • Uncategorized
      • Update
      • VR
      • VTuber
      • Windows
      • Windows Phone
      • Xbox One
      • XBox One (Platform)
      • Xbox Series X
      • XBox Series X (Platform)
      remake

      GamerBraves Newsletter vol. 78 – What Makes A Good Video Game Remake

      Valiant Hearts: Coming Home

      Valiant Hearts: Coming Home Arrives on Netflix End of January

      Honkai Star Rail Beta

      Honkai Star Rail Commences its Final Closed Beta

      granblue relink second trailer

      Granblue Fantasy: Relink Debuts Second Trailer With New Playable Characters

      granblue fantasy versus rising

      Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Revealed With 2023 Worldwide Launch

      octopath II Hunter Apothecary

      Octopath Traveller II New Trailer Features The Hunter and The Apothecary, Collector’s Edition Revealed

      powerwash Tomb Raider

      Powerwash Simulator Gets Tomb Raider Crossover Later This Month

      Putra Aria Brand Awards

      ASUS Wins Two Gold Awards at The Putra Aria Brand Awards 2022

      Mummies

      Mummies Review – Mummy Music? Time to Wrap

    • Reviews
      • All
      • 3DS
      • All
      • Android
      • Anime
      • AR
      • Battle Royale
      • Beta
      • BlackBerry
      • Closed Beta
      • Comic Book
      • Concert
      • Console
      • Cookbook
      • Demo
      • Desktops
      • DLC
      • Dota 2
      • Early Access
      • Epic Games Store
      • esports
      • Event
      • Exclusive
      • Expasion
      • Feature
      • Film
      • First Impressions
      • Gadgets
      • Gaming Laptop
      • Giveaway
      • Guides
      • Industry
      • Interview
      • iOS
      • Laptops
      • Launched
      • Linux
      • Mac
      • Malaysia
      • Manga
      • Merchandise
      • Mobile Games
      • Mobile Phone
      • Movie
      • Music
      • New Games
      • News
      • Newsletter
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch (Platform)
      • NSFW
      • Open Beta
      • Opinion
      • Origin
      • PC
      • pin to top
      • PlayStation VR
      • Podcast
      • Pre-registration
      • Preview
      • PS4
      • PS4 (Platform)
      • PS5
      • PS5 (Platform)
      • PSVita
      • Reviews
      • Rumour
      • Shut down
      • Soft Launch
      • Sponsored
      • Stadia
      • Steam
      • Streaming Series
      • System Update
      • Tablet
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Tech
      • Television
      • Theme
      • Tournament
      • Unboxing
      • Uncategorized
      • Update
      • VR
      • VTuber
      • Windows
      • Windows Phone
      • Xbox One
      • XBox One (Platform)
      • Xbox Series X
      • XBox Series X (Platform)
      remake

      GamerBraves Newsletter vol. 78 – What Makes A Good Video Game Remake

      Valiant Hearts: Coming Home

      Valiant Hearts: Coming Home Arrives on Netflix End of January

      Honkai Star Rail Beta

      Honkai Star Rail Commences its Final Closed Beta

      granblue relink second trailer

      Granblue Fantasy: Relink Debuts Second Trailer With New Playable Characters

      granblue fantasy versus rising

      Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Revealed With 2023 Worldwide Launch

      octopath II Hunter Apothecary

      Octopath Traveller II New Trailer Features The Hunter and The Apothecary, Collector’s Edition Revealed

      powerwash Tomb Raider

      Powerwash Simulator Gets Tomb Raider Crossover Later This Month

      Putra Aria Brand Awards

      ASUS Wins Two Gold Awards at The Putra Aria Brand Awards 2022

      Mummies

      Mummies Review – Mummy Music? Time to Wrap

    • Interviews
      ea pga tour interview

      EA Sports PGA Tour Interview: The Developers Aim To Making The Best Looking Golf Game Possible

      hakken

      An Interview With Hakken: Insight From Malaysia’s Top Cosplayer

      mappa interview

      MAPPA Staff Manabu Otsuka, Makoto Kimura, and Yuichiro Hayashi Discuss Taking Over ATTACK ON TITAN From WIT STUDIO In New Interview

      Atomic Heart Publishers 4Divinity Talks About Game Publishing in Southeast Asia and Asia in Interview

      Atomic Heart Publishers 4Divinity Talks About Game Publishing in Southeast Asia and Asia in Interview

      Diablo 4 Interview with Rod Fergusson and Joe Shely – Crafting a non-linear, understandable, long-term career in demon hunting

      Diablo 4 Interview with Rod Fergusson and Joe Shely – Crafting a non-linear, understandable, long-term career in demon hunting

      dragon quest treasures interview

      Dragon Quest Treasures Interview: Producer Taichi Inuzuka Gives More Info On Erik’s New Adventure

      Apple’s App Store Awards Winners Talk PTSD, Good Mobile Controls And Just Being Horrifying

      Apple’s App Store Awards Winners Talk PTSD, Good Mobile Controls And Just Being Horrifying

      kento yamazaki

      Alice in Borderland Interview: Arisu Actor Kento Yamazaki Tells Us What We Can Expect From Season 2

      Marvel’s Midnight Suns Interview with Jake Solomon – On writing established characters, and changing the tactical formula

      Marvel’s Midnight Suns Interview with Jake Solomon – On writing established characters, and changing the tactical formula

      Trending Tags

      • CareerBraves
      • Media Partners
        • Wanuxi
        • Gamer Santai
        • GamerWK
      No Result
      View All Result
      GamerBraves
      No Result
      View All Result

      How Overwatch Inspired Modern Live Service Games

      From hero shooters to loot boxes to Tracer's bum, Overwatch certainly made waves when it launched back in 2016

      Alex Daud Briggs by Alex Daud Briggs
      3 months ago
      in All, Console, Feature, Industry, New Games, News, Nintendo Switch (Platform), PS4 (Platform), PS5 (Platform), Steam, Windows, XBox One (Platform), XBox Series X (Platform)
      Reading Time: 5 mins read
      overwatch live service
      Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on TelegramShare on Whatsapp

      This article on ‘How Overwatch Inspired Modern Live Service Games’ was available earlier through the Gamerbraves Newsletter. Sign up for free to gain access to more articles about news and trends in the gaming industry and community.

      Original Article:

      With Overwatch 2 recently releasing we thought it’d be an apt time to talk about the original Overwatch and how for better or worse, a lot of the central features of live service games can be traced back to it.

      Related Posts

      Sword Art Online Last Recollection New Trailer Features The Game’s Theme Song

      Night Walker, Remake to HeroWarz Now Available in Korea

      To say that Overwatch had a good launch back in 2016 would be an understatement. The game sold 7 million copies in its first week alone and as of 2022, it had grossed over 50 million USD in revenue making it the 7th best-selling game of all time. Players across the world have united in their love of the game’s world, characters, and fast-paced team shooter mechanics.

      With such a popular IP, it’s no surprise that other developers started taking notes on Overwatch and replicated several of its ideas and features in their own games especially when it comes to live service games. Here are just some of the trends set by Overwatch:


      Follow @GamerBraves

      The Hero Shooter Genre

      Overwatch is a hero shooter: a subgenre of FPS games where instead of equipping a single-player character with new guns and upgrades, you choose from a roster of heroes with different skills and weaknesses. This proved to be the core appeal of the game as characters like Tracer, D.VA and Mercy quickly became some of the most beloved characters in gaming, especially in certain corners of the internet (though if anything, this kind of content just made them more popular).

      The appeal is very similar to that of fighting games. You have a wide variety of characters in all shapes, sizes, and personalities, representing different groups and cultures from across the world. Chances are even if you don’t like one hero, there’ll be two or three more that you’ll find yourself gravitating towards with new characters regularly being added with new updates.

      In the years following Overwatch’s release, we’ve seen even more developers publish their own takes on the Hero Shooter Formula. Since the game’s launch, we’ve seen the release of Riot Games’ Valorant and Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends.

      Each of these titles is pretty unique in its own right. Valorant was a colorful new take on Counter-Strike-style FPS gameplay while Apex is a free-to-play battle royal. What’s notable about both however is that they brought in the same hero-shooter concept. A large roster of different characters to bring to the front lines.

      Even Rainbow Six Siege which actually launched before Overwatch has been dressing more of its operators in slightly less militaristic, more colorful attire. In 2018 it even changed its Logo, menus, and key art with a more vibrant look showing the game drifting away from its gritty tactical FPS roots, to a PVP-based hero shooter with characters at the forefront. It’s pretty clear how the times and trends have changed in Overwatch’s favor.

      The Overwatch Menu

      One of the most important aspects of any video game but especially live service games is a good UI. When people boot up your game the last thing you want is for them to turn it off again because they got lost in the menus.

      Overwatch’s main menu however is pretty direct. The tile-like panels used for the UI are great at catching the player’s eye and making it easy to understand what mode they’re selecting. This allows you to get into each game as quickly and efficiently as possible.

      overwatch live service

      Likewise, other games have adopted a similar style to Overwatch. Honkai Impact makes good use of similar tile menus and character customization screens for its various modes. Even the newly released Splitgate has a similar UI for its ‘Impact Race’ Mode menu showing the tile layout is still going strong. That’s not a bad thing mind you. Menus and UI are a means of getting to the gameplay and if this style of UI allows the game to do that, then its use of nothing but a good thing.

      Loot Boxes

      overwatch live service

      This takes us to the monetization aspect of Overwatch. For better or worse: Overwatch made loot boxes popular. They were the first mainstream game to really have them as a feature. Yes, they’ve been used before but considering just how much Overwatch made from them, it’s no surprise that the game’s specific format for loot boxes is what would inspire their appearances in other titles.

      Overwatch’s loot boxes involved a number of skins/costumes given at completely random but with different levels of rarity. It should be noted however that Overwatch’s loot boxes only contained cosmetic items as opposed to previous games that had them like TF2 and CounterStrike which contained actual weapons leading to pay-to-win mechanics. This in turn has led to the most prevalent mainstream defense of loot boxes: they’re ok if it’s all aesthetic items.

      Almost every live service game in recent years uses this kind of monetization, from Fifa to Rainbow Six Siege (which added loot boxes a year after Overwatch was released), to the less than steller implementation in games like Star Wars Battlefront 2, where popular characters and play to win mechanics were hidden in the digital treasure chests.

      Activision-Blizzard actually removed the loot boxes from Overwatch and has said they will not be included in Overwatch 2. This is because they’re replacing them with a new in-game currency called ‘Overwatch Coins’ have seen a mixed reception. Some players actually prefer the loot boxes as it was easier to unlock them for free compared to the coins.

      Closing Thoughts

      overwatch live service

      It can be argued that a lot of features talked about in Overwatch were really first used in Team Fortress 2: a hero shooter that has loot boxes (I still remember the hat wars of the late early 2010s). However, while Overwatch definitely shares some elements with Team Fortress, it’s likely no coincidence that so many other games started making use of the live service mechanics that Overwatch brought about after its launch.

      The game took everything that worked about previous hero shooters and expanded on it: a fighting game-style roster of quirky characters, an easy-to-understand UI, and cosmetic-only loot boxes.

      You may like or dislike different elements of modern live service games but it’s undeniable that these elements were popularized with the unprecedented success of Overwatch. Hopefully, game developers entering the live service genre will learn from the strengths of these features and continue to improve and innovate on them in the future.

      Tags: Honkai Impact 3rdOverwatchOverwatch 2Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
      ShareTweetShareSend
      Previous Post

      Genshin Impact web event “May Your Dreams of Wisdom Come True” Begins

      Next Post

      The Problems With Meta Humor In Modern Movies, TV Series and Video Games

      Alex Daud Briggs

      Alex Daud Briggs

      A gamer, movie buff and anime fan who enjoys seeking out obscure cult classics, and proceeding to find no one to to talk to about them. A big fan of JRPGs, Visuals Novels, and Nintendo games even if he has trouble affording them half of the time. Twitter: @Aleph_Daud.

      Related Posts

      Sword Art Online Last Recollection
      News

      Sword Art Online Last Recollection New Trailer Features The Game’s Theme Song

      January 27, 2023
      Night Walker
      News

      Night Walker, Remake to HeroWarz Now Available in Korea

      January 27, 2023
      Bondee NFT
      News

      Bondee Has Plans For NFT Integration After You’ve All Downloaded It

      January 27, 2023
      Next Post
      meta humor movies

      The Problems With Meta Humor In Modern Movies, TV Series and Video Games

      Discussion about this post

      Follow us on Facebook

      Our Youtube Channel

      Our Twitter

      Tweets by GamerBraves

      GUIDES

      [Guide] All Romance Options in Fire Emblem Engage

      [Guide] All Romance Options in Fire Emblem Engage

      by Lucas
      January 20, 2023
      0

      [Guide] Cookie Run Kingdom – Should You Use Milky Way Cookie

      [Guide] Cookie Run Kingdom – Should You Use Milky Way Cookie

      by Alex Daud Briggs
      January 20, 2023
      0

      Nikke Viper

      [Guide] Nikke: Goddess of Victory – Should you Pull Viper

      by Izzy
      January 18, 2023
      0

      [Guide] Genshin Impact – Yaoyao Kit and Build Overview

      [Guide] Genshin Impact – Yaoyao Kit and Build Overview

      by Izzy
      January 18, 2023
      0

      Genshin Impact Alhaitham

      [Guide] Genshin Impact – Alhaitham Kit and Build Overview

      by Izzy
      January 18, 2023
      0

      Nikke Liberation

      [Guide] Nikke: Goddess of Victory – Liberation Mode: Who to Choose

      by Izzy
      January 12, 2023
      0

      [Guide] Nikke: Goddess of Victory – Should you Pull Jackal

      [Guide] Nikke: Goddess of Victory – Should you Pull Jackal

      by Izzy
      January 11, 2023
      0

      Prophet Cookie

      [Guide] Cookie Run Kingdom – Should You Use Prophet Cookie

      by Alex Daud Briggs
      January 9, 2023
      0

      Eversoul Tier List

      [Guide] Eversoul Global – Tier List

      by Izzy
      January 5, 2023
      0

      Eversoul Reroll

      [Guide] Eversoul Global – How to Reroll

      by Izzy
      January 5, 2023
      0

      • About GamerBraves
      • Contact Us
      • Privacy Policy

      © 2016 - 2022 Digital Braves Media Group Sdn Bhd

      No Result
      View All Result
      • News
      • Reviews
      • Interviews
      • CareerBraves
      • Media Partners
        • Wanuxi
        • Gamer Santai
        • GamerWK

      © 2016 - 2022 Digital Braves Media Group Sdn Bhd