Live-service games are making video game backlogs obsolete in 2026

Kotaku reports that in 2026 the idea of a video game backlog is being challenged as "forever games" and live-service titles keep growing, making it harder to finish a game and permanently cross it off a list.

The writer says they finished Diablo 4 in 2023 and had crossed it off their backlog, but seasonal updates, added narrative elements, an expansion, and another expansion slated for later this year put the game back on their list. They note The Division 2 was completed once but has since expanded into a bigger game with more missions and story, while BioWare's Anthem lingered on their backlog until its servers were permanently shut down. The writer also observes that single-player releases like Ubisoft's Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora can receive ongoing updates that blur the line between finite and "forever" experiences.

Faced with these "live-service ghosts," the writer considers rebuilding a backlog reserved only for offline single-player experiences believed unlikely to be expanded or killed, which would be more manageable though still long. Whether that approach will stick remains the author's personal question rather than a settled conclusion.

Key Topics

Culture, Live-service Games, Forever Games, Anthem, Seasonal Updates