Q: What are some common pitfalls studios face when building or evolving their metagame layer?

Oliver: In my experience the key pitfalls are usually around thinking too narrowly, not considering all the edge cases and other systems or balancing that will be affected with this change. It's important to take a step back and consider the ask, consider the ripple effects noting down any risks or unknowns and raising those with stakeholders before committing. That way everyone can be fully aligned on the consequences and take any additional overhead into account when planning the work, and you can aim to mitigate any risk in the design from the get-go rather than frantically plug the holes as you go. 

That and also adding a metagame feature just for the sake of it, because it's trendy. Don't lose sight of what makes your game unique and your target audience. Just because you've seen a feature garner great engagement in other games doesn't mean it works for your game, it might even detract from it if it feels out of tune with your core pillars and flavour. Instead try to analyse the root of why said feature was successful in those games, and see if you can give it your own spin on your project to reach similar goals.

Q: What are some innovative monetisation strategies you’ve seen that also strengthen community engagement?

Oliver: No particular hot takes but the trend of having some free and some paid seasonal content feels like an effective middle-ground, where players unlock items through engagement but get the opportunity unlock more items if you upgrade. It's especially effective when a game allows you to do so later down the line once the player is certain to get bang for their buck after putting in a lot of time that season. As long as it's purely cosmetic and does not cheat progression in any way I think this is an approach players are appreciating.

The other strategy I'm a fan of is games structuring their release as episodic content, allowing you to play certain chapters for free and pay for more if you are enjoying it, a try-before-you-buy approach usually generous in the initial free content.

Q: What methods or tools do you use to assess market trends and player expectations when shaping metagame features?

Oliver: I'm always interested in breaking down both good and bad examples of features, noting down what is good about the good and what is bad about the bad. When you have both perspectives it's easier to know not only what you should be prioritising to get the most out of it but also what pitfalls to avoid. Spotting the bad also often opens up an opportunity to improve and innovate, find ways to make a good feature great and set the bar for future titles.

Q: What trends or technologies do you think will shape the future of metagame design in live service games?

Oliver: I think the rise of UGC will continue, it makes sense to strive for a self-sustaining content pipeline in live service. On the AI front I don't think the immediate success will lie in infinite content generation, but rather in subtle leveraging of existing metagame systems. For example more advanced targeted shop content/sales derived from players' playstyles, or daily challenges that adapt to how a player tends to enjoy their sessions. On the hardware front I'm betting on AR glasses becoming a big player in live service gaming; as a potential always-on device, think of the notification potential!

Q: What are you most looking forward to at the Live Service Gaming Summit?

Oliver: I'm curious to see what panel topics visitors are going to be engaging with the most, what's actively on developers' minds in terms of what they could use professional insights on. I'm also looking forward to my panel discussion, excited to see where the discussion takes us seeing as we've got quite a versatile group of different disciplines!

🎮 Ready to shape the future of live service games? Don’t miss the Live Service Gaming Summit, where industry leaders will share bold insights, tactical strategies, and real-world lessons from the frontlines of game development, operations, and monetisation. Whether you're in production, development, or LiveOps, this is your chance to connect with the studios redefining player engagement and long-term game success. 👉 Register here