Editing Single-player video game (section)

==History==
{{Video game history}}
The earliest video games, such as ''[[Tennis for Two]]'' (1958), ''[[Spacewar!]]'' (1962), and ''[[Pong]]'' (1972), were symmetrical games designed to be played by two players. Single-player games gained popularity only after this, with early titles such as ''[[Speed Race]]'' (1974)<ref>"Speed Race." (Game). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.</ref> and ''[[Space Invaders]]'' (1978).

The reason for this, according to [[Raph Koster]], is down to a combination of several factors: increasingly sophisticated computers and interfaces that enabled [[asymmetric warfare|asymmetric]] gameplay, [[Cooperative video game|cooperative gameplay]] and story delivery within a gaming framework, coupled with the fact that the majority of early games players had introverted personality types (according to the [[Myers-Briggs Type Indicator|Myers-Briggs personality type indicator]]).<ref name='RaphKoster'>{{cite web | url = http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/02/10/are-single-player-games-doomed | title = Are single-player games doomed? | access-date = 2013-02-25 | last = Koster | first = Raph | author-link = Raph Koster | date = 10 Feb 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130208222638/http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/02/10/are-single-player-games-doomed | archive-date = 8 February 2013}}</ref>

Although most modern games incorporate a single-player element either as the core or as one of several game modes, single-player gaming had been viewed by the [[video game industry]] as peripheral to the future of gaming, with [[Electronic Arts]] vice president Frank Gibeau stating in 2012 that he had not approved one game to be developed as a single-player experience.<ref name='CVG'>{{cite news | title = Is single-player gaming under-threat? | date = 28 Oct 2012 | publisher = [[Future plc]] | url = http://www.computerandvideogames.com/374796/features/is-single-player-gaming-under-threat/ | work = Computer and Video Games | access-date = 2013-02-25}}</ref>

The question of the financial viability of single-player [[AAA (video gaming)|AAA]] games was raised following the closure of [[Visceral Games]] by [[Electronic Arts]] (EA) in October 2017. Visceral had been a studio that established itself on a strong narrative single-player focus with ''[[Dead Space (series)|Dead Space]]'', and had been working on a single-player, linear narrative ''[[Star Wars]]'' game at the time of the closure; EA announced following this that they would be taking the game in a different direction, specifically "a broader experience that allows for more variety and player agency".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-17-ea-has-shut-down-visceral-games | title = EA has shut down Visceral Games | first = Matt | last= Wales | date = October 17, 2017 | access-date = October 17, 2017 | work = [[Eurogamer]] }}</ref> Many commentators felt that EA made the change as they did not have confidence that a studio with an AAA-scale budget could produce a viable single-player game based on the popular ''Star Wars'' franchise. Alongside this, as well as relatively poor sales of games in the year prior that were principally AAA single-player games (''[[Resident Evil 7]]'', ''[[Prey (2017 video game)|Prey]]'', ''[[Dishonored 2]]'', and ''[[Deus Ex: Mankind Divided]]'') against financially successful multiplayer games and those offer a games-as-a-service model (''[[Overwatch (video game)|Overwatch]]'', ''[[Destiny 2]]'', and ''[[Star Wars Battlefront II (2017 video game)|Star Wars Battlefront 2]]''), were indicators to many that the single-player model for AAA was waning.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2017/10/18/16491188/ea-star-wars-visceral-games-single-player  |title = EA's Star Wars 'pivot' is a vote of no confidence in single-player games | first =Samit | last = Sarkar | date = October 18, 2017 | access-date = October 20, 2017 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/does-visceral-s-closure-prove-aaa-single-player-games-are-dying- | title = Does Visceral's closure prove AAA single-player games are dying? | author = Staff | date = October 19, 2017 | access-date = October 20, 2017 | work = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.vice.com/en/article/todays-star-wars-news-makes-the-future-of-single-player-look-very-messy/ | title = Today's Star Wars News Makes the Future of Single-Player Look Very Messy | first=  Patrick |last= Klepek |date = October 17, 2017 | access-date = October 20, 2017 | work = [[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] }}</ref><ref name="usgamer history">{{cite web | url = http://www.usgamer.net/articles/the-rise-and-fall-of-visceral-games|  title = The Rise and Fall of Visceral Games | first = Caty | last = McCarthy | date = October 19, 2017 | access-date = October 20, 2017 | work  = [[US Gamer]] }}</ref> Manveer Heir, who had left EA after finishing his gameplay design work for ''[[Mass Effect Andromeda]]'', acknowledged that the culture within EA was against the development of single-player games, and with Visceral's closure, "that the linear single-player triple-A game at EA is dead for the time being".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-10-23-manveer-heir-bioware-mass-effect-ea-monetisation | title = I've seen people literally spend $15,000 on Mass Effect multiplayer cards | first = Robert | last = Purchase | date = October 23, 2017 | access-date = October 23, 2017 | work = [[Eurogamer]] }}</ref> [[Bethesda Softworks|Bethesda]] on December 7, 2017, decided to collaborate with [[Lynda Carter]] to launch a Public Safety Announcement to save single-player gaming.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-kicks-off-a-save-player-1-sale-for-its-single-player-games/ | title = Bethesda kicks off a 'Save Player 1' sale for its single-player games | first = Andy | last = Chalk | date = December 7, 2017 | access-date = December 14, 2017 | work = [[PC Gamer]] }}</ref>

A few years later in 2021, EA was reported to have revived interest in single-player games, following the successful launch of ''[[Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order]]'' in 2020. The company still planned on releasing live service games with multiplayer components, but began evaluating its IP catalog for more single-player titles to revive, such as a remake of the ''[[Dead Space (franchise)|Dead Space]]'' franchise.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2021/07/01/dead-space-remake-is-in-the-works-at-motive/ | title = Dead Space remake is in the works at Motive | first =Jeff | last= Grubb | date = July 1, 2021 | accessdate = July 1, 2021 | work = [[Venture Beat]] }}</ref> Around the same time, head of [[Xbox Game Studios]] Phil Spencer said that they still see a place for narrative-driven single-player games even though the financial drivers of the market tended to be live service games. Spencer said that developing such games with AAA-scale budgets can be risky, but with availability of services like [[cloud gaming]] and subscription services, they can gauge audience reaction to these games early on and reduce the risk involved before releases.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/jul/13/phil-spencer-future-of-microsoft-xbox-risks-narrative-games | title = Phil Spencer on the future of Xbox: we still want to take risks with games | first = Keith | last = Stuart | date = July 13, 2021 | accessdate = July 13, 2021 | work = [[The Guardian]] }}</ref>