live service
UK/ˈlaɪ̯v ˌsɜːvɪs/US/ˈlaɪ̯v ˌsɝvɪs/
live service noun: used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see live, service.
Noun
live service (plural live services)
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see live, service.
- The model of continuously updating and adding content in a video game after release, especially with the monetization of some or all of such content.
- For single-player-driven titles, they view live service as this: here’s a piece of content every three to six months and that’s it, and maybe there’s one year of support and the game is done.2023 March 18, Josh Bycer, “Why Live Service Doesn’t Excite Anymore”, in Game Wisdom
- Sony has had some success with live service, but in a week where it gutted Bungie, the team it bought for $3.7 billion with the intention of establishing a ‘Live Service Centre of Excellence’, it’s hard to say things have gone well.2026 June 26, Sammy Barker, “Sony Will Continue to Chase Live Service Dream, Despite Mostly Disastrous Execution to Date”, in Push Square
- Synonyms:
- games as a service
- A video game that uses said model.
- I know that EA mainly wants all its games to be online and to be live services because this is the current tendency.2017 December 29, Erpeerpe [username], “How many more years of TS4?”, in EA Forums (reply)
- I would categorize them like Stardew Valley I suppose. Not necessarily a live service, but a product with a long tail akin to how Blizzard uses to support games like WC3 or Diablo 2.2024 September 9, GrantDaNasty [username], “How do you define Games as a Service or a Live Service Game?”, in ResetEra (reply)
- The elements within a game that are characteristic of said model.
- Only reason what^([sic]) I can think of why EA decided to end live service for this game is that their profit is declining and profit needs to be much high^([sic]) for continuing live support any longer, I doubt they will start live service for this game again.2020 May 23, quenaelin [username], “Re: Will Battlefront 2 continue to be maintained?”, in EA Forums (post)
- So no I don't want a store or cosmetic rewards or "live service" in every game I play and I don't think that fixation on loot and rewards has anything to do with being a solo player.2024 June 20, Danikat [username], “Question for Solo Players”, in The Elder Scrolls® Online (reply)
Adjective
live service (not comparable)
- Related to or having a live service model.
- This year we have a new category @thegameawards : Best Ongoing Game for live service games (including games released in previous years).2017 November 11, @geoffkeighley [Geoff Keighley], Twitter (post)
- Unplug your internet. Can you play the game? If not, then it's live service.2024 February 29, CodingSession [username], “What makes a game a "live service" game?”, in GameFAQs (reply)
Synonyms of live service
- games as a service
Forms of live service
| plural | live services |
|---|
Questions about live service
- What does live service mean?
- Live service means used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see live, service.
- What part of speech is live service?
- Live service can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce live service?
- Live service is pronounced /ˈlaɪ̯v ˌsɜːvɪs/ (UK).
- What is the plural of live service?
- The plural of live service is live services.
Words near live service in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: live service (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “live service.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/live_service. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.