Why Don’t We Get More MMOFPS Games Like Planetside 2?

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The first time you entered Auraxis in *Planetside 2* was an unforgettable experience. Hundreds of players were actively fighting – tanks rumbled across the landscape, planes clashed in the sky, and soldiers stormed bases in endless waves. While other large-scale shooters like *Battlefield* exist, *Planetside 2* offered a level of massive conflict that remains unmatched even today.

Many players who experienced *Planetside 2* on PC and PS4 remember it fondly. Surprisingly, very few game developers have attempted to create something similar, despite its success. Today, with so many ongoing live-service games, the large-scale, persistent online shooter genre feels like a thing of the past, rather than the innovative step forward it once seemed to be. It begs the question: what happened?

The Technical Challenge of Massive Battles

A major challenge for large-scale, online shooter games has always been trying to create incredibly detailed worlds without running into technical problems. *Planetside 2* was remarkably well-built for its time. It successfully displayed huge battlefields with hundreds of players fighting simultaneously, accurately simulating everything from bullets and explosions to vehicle movement and complex base designs. Even now, very few games try to achieve this level of detail, and that’s because the technical demands are significant and difficult to overcome.

Today’s popular shooting games usually feature smaller teams or large-scale battle royale matches with around a hundred players – and even those can strain a game’s performance. Keeping a game like *Planetside 2* running smoothly demanded constant tweaking and clever design choices, often involving trade-offs that most players wouldn’t realize but experienced players definitely noticed. Issues like how quickly a player registers a hit and the sheer amount of action happening at once were frequent problems. While many players were willing to accept these flaws for the sake of massive battles, most game developers avoid building games with such limitations. Once players realize these underlying issues, they become permanent problems that can’t be easily fixed.

Beyond these challenges, there’s also significant financial risk. Creating a large-scale online shooter requires powerful servers to handle many players simultaneously, and maintaining those servers around the clock is expensive. Without a large and active player base, the game won’t be financially viable. In fact, live service games often struggle with declining player numbers, which is a major concern in today’s gaming landscape. Studios generally prefer to work on projects with a smaller scope, particularly because investors want to see quick profits rather than taking risks on ambitious, long-term projects. This is probably why we don’t see many games similar to *Planetside* being developed anymore.

MMOFPS’ Genre Identity Crisis

One of the challenges for the game has been figuring out what it *is*. Planetside 2 attempted to combine the features of massive multiplayer online games (MMOs) and first-person shooters (FPS), but didn’t quite fully deliver on what fans of either genre wanted. Shooter players typically prefer fast-paced action and short game sessions, while MMO players enjoy long-term progression, strong communities, and a lasting impact on the game world. Planetside 2 tried to offer both, and did a decent job, but this compromise came with drawbacks.

Planetside 2 had progression systems and gameplay mechanics that were good, but not as detailed as typical MMOs or as refined as dedicated shooters like Battlefield and Call of Duty. Some players appreciated this balance, finding it gave the game a unique feel. Others felt Planetside 2 tried to be too many things at once, and didn’t quite master any single aspect. This made it hard to clearly define and market the game.

Explaining *Planetside 2* to someone new is tricky. It doesn’t fit neatly into typical game categories like traditional MMOs, standard shooters, or battle royales. It’s a very complex game with intricate systems, and it takes a lot of time and effort to learn how everything works – more than many players have these days. Even after mastering the basics, *Planetside 2* requires accepting a certain amount of unpredictability for the sake of truly great moments. While that appeals to a dedicated group of players, it’s a tough concept to sell to a wider audience who prefer simpler games. Ultimately, this complexity prevented *Planetside 2* from finding a solid foothold in the gaming industry. Other studios recognized both its innovative ideas and its challenges, and most decided the potential risks outweighed the possible rewards.

Can the MMOFPS Make a Comeback?

So, what’s the future of these massive online shooter games? Even though they’ve faced difficulties, the core idea remains strong. The dream of being a single warrior in a huge, dynamic war – where personal skill and teamwork matter – is something few other game genres can match. However, for this type of game to truly succeed again, it needs to evolve. Today’s gamers want a better initial experience and clear ways to improve. A new game would also require significant investment in technology, possibly using cloud services to handle large battles efficiently. Above all, it needs a developer with the financial resources and willingness to try something new, in an industry that often prefers safe bets.

There’s growing optimism about the future of online games. Improvements in server technology and internet infrastructure are making it easier to create massive online battles, something that was much harder just ten years ago. Game developers are also finding new and innovative ways to build persistent online worlds. The success of games like *Destiny 2*, *Battlefield*, and the popularity of extraction shooters show that players are still eager for large-scale, immersive experiences. The demand for these kinds of games is clearly present.

Having spent a lot of time playing both *Planetside* 1 and 2, I think the MMOFPS genre is ripe for a comeback. What it needs is a developer who’s not just focused on profit, but also wants to really innovate and push the genre forward. Just one well-made game could spark a new era for large-scale, persistent shooter battles. It might look different than what we remember, but the idea of huge fights with thousands of players is still appealing. All it takes is one ambitious studio to try again. For now, *Planetside 2* is both a great example of what’s possible and a reminder of that potential. The dream of the MMOFPS isn’t over-it just needs someone willing to lead the way.

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2025-09-19 18:16