GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Live Service Games Summit: The Soul of LiveOps: Building Teams, Trust, and Long-Term Success
Keisha Howard (Founder, Sugar Gamers Labs)
Location: Room 2006, West Hall
Date: Tuesday, March 18
Time: 4:10 pm - 5:10 pm
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Business & Marketing, Live Service Games
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: Video
Audience Level: All
LiveOps has reshaped game development, driving unprecedented profitability but creating relentless demands on developers and players alike. In this session, we explore how LiveOps became the industry's dominant model and what it takes to thrive within its constraints. Keisha acknowledges the financial pressures teams face and presents realistic, solution-oriented strategies for balancing profitability with sustainability. Attendees will learn low-cost, high-impact approaches to foster healthier team dynamics, ethical monetization, and incremental innovation while redefining success through diverse metrics, including team health and player trust. This talk challenges developers to reconnect with the reasons they create and play games, offering actionable insights to build games that succeed financially while maintaining their creative and human "soul."
Takeaway
"Keisha Howard explores balancing LiveOps' financial demands with sustainable practices, redefining success beyond profitability to include team health, player trust, and ethical monetization. She offers actionable insights to foster creativity and resilience, empowering developers to create games that succeed both financially and meaningfully."
Intended Audience
Taking a community-building and developer advocacy approach, this session is for developers at all levels who are open to exploring solutions for better balancing LiveOps' financial demands with team health and player trust. Attendees will gain insights into fostering sustainable practices and creating games that thrive both financially and meaningfully.
