Console Games Grapple with Difficulty Balancing Act to Appease Diverse Player Bases
SEOUL, Sept. 13, 2025 – Anticipated console game releases are increasingly navigating a tightrope walk between satisfying hardcore gamers and avoiding alienating more casual players with challenging difficulty levels, a trend highlighted by recent adjustments to titles like First Berserker: Kazan. Developers are recognizing the need to cater to a wider spectrum of skill and experience, leading to revisions in game design and difficulty settings even after initial launch.
The challenge stems from a disparity between dedicated fans deeply invested in specific genres and newcomers seeking accessible gameplay. While passionate players frequently enough provide detailed feedback advocating for higher difficulty, beta tests and focus groups frequently skew towards those already familiar with the genre – often hardcore gamers – potentially overlooking the needs of a broader audience. This can result in games initially launching with difficulty curves that prove too steep for many, leading to player frustration and abandonment.
Nexon Neople’s action RPG First Berserker: Kazan serves as a recent example. Following its release, the game faced criticism for its high difficulty, with players frequently enough forced to abandon progress due to insurmountable challenges. Initially, the game offered only ‘normal’ and ‘easy’ difficulties, with no option to adjust mid-game. Recognizing the issue, the developers reworked the difficulty settings, transforming ‘easy’ into ‘normal’ and ‘normal’ into ‘challenge,’ while introducing a new, more accessible ‘introductory’ difficulty and overall balance adjustments.
A game planner from Pangyo noted the prevalence of hardcore gamer feedback in testing phases, stating, “Even if you test beta tests or focus groups (FGT and minority tests), there are a lot of fans who are familiar with the genre, and people who give detailed feedback have a lot of hardcore gamers.”
This balancing act is expected to continue as console game developers strive to broaden their appeal while maintaining the depth and challenge that core fans demand.
