Gaming

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Welcome to the FPS vibe shift: At the end of 2025, it's clear that casual shooters are back in a big way. (www.pcgamer.com)

submitted 2 days ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/gaming@beehaw.org

17 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The FPS is once again in transition. It's a change that's been percolating for a while, but 2025 was the year a number of developing trends in PC gaming's favorite genre finally boiled over.

The time of extreme skill ceilings and the pursuit of metallic ranks defining every new multiplayer FPS is behind us. The escalation of gaudy, overpriced cosmetics created a distaste so palpable that Call of Duty had to desperately change its game plan. The two biggest shooters this year cost money, and there were no major free-to-play releases. The theme of this new era, as I see it developing so far, is remembering that shooters can be both casual and thrilling. High fun, low emotional investment.

An old guard of life-consuming live-service games remains a vibrant and popular part of this genre, but they're once again sharing the space with—and even adopting the attributes of—a more casual breed. Games that don't mind if you only play them once in a while. Games that let you make your own fun, encourage cooperation, or earn our respect by not bombarding us with ads.

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 17 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

Casual shooters never went away... Unless whoever wrote this thinks stuff like Fortnite isn't casual.

[–] t3rmit3@beehaw.org 11 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Do you have to play it all the time in order to not miss out on tons of content (i.e. events)? Because that doesn't feel 'casual' to me. My trough between games I cycle through is years, not months, so hearing that in the time I was gone there's been n missed major events or 'storylines' definitely seems pretty hostile to a casual engagement.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

That doesn't even have anything to do with what casual game even means.

There are no story lines in Fortnite, afaik. They do sometimes have special events, like in-game concerts. But again, that doesn't mean it isn't a casual game. Destiny 2 is exactly like you're describing and it's still a casual game.

[–] chamomile@furry.engineer 6 points 2 days ago

@Kolanaki @t3rmit3 The linked article is using "casual" to refer to a number of different traits - competitiveness is one of them, but also how demanding they are for your time and attention. Casual was probably the wrong word to choose, since it already has a different meaning for most gamers, but the thesis is more about the return of low-stakes FPS games that you can pick up here and there to goof off without being milked for every minute and dollar you can spare.

An old guard of life-consuming live-service games remains a vibrant and popular part of this genre, but they're once again sharing the space with—and even adopting the attributes of—a more casual breed. Games that don't mind if you only play them once in a while. Games that let you make your own fun, encourage cooperation, or earn our respect by not bombarding us with ads.

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