Shooter War Stories: What Keeps Games Alive (and What Kills Them)

From QA to AAA

Thad did not enter the industry through a flashy degree program or a clear career path. He started in QA, testing broken games over and over, documenting bugs, and grinding through the front lines of development. What made him stand out was not just his ability to find bugs but his deep knowledge of games as a lifelong player. That passion opened doors. His first major opportunity came at Gray Matter Interactive, where he worked on Return to Castle Wolfenstein. From there, he designed a level for the very first Call of Duty expansion pack, a B-17 bomber mission that debuted at E3. That moment, he says, hooked him for life.

The takeaway is clear. QA is not just playing games. It is training ground. Understanding how systems break teaches you how to design better ones. Many successful designers started this way, and Thad has made it a point to mentor others from QA into design roles.

Building for Scale

What does it take to build games that serve over 100 million players? According to Thad, scale is not just about server capacity or headcount. It is about layers of value. Call of Duty, for example, is not one game. It is multiple experiences: single player, multiplayer, Zombies, Warzone. That variety keeps players engaged and returning for different reasons over time.

But you do not get there overnight. Battlefield 1942 sold around two million copies. Each sequel doubled that number by building on feedback, iterating, and finding the fun. Thad argues that trying to kill Call of Duty with a brand new studio and a pile of cash is the wrong approach. The smarter path is to start small, find your audience, and grow with them. Scale is earned, not bought.

Innovation Versus Expectation

Every shooter walks a fine line between giving players what they expect and surprising them with something new. Players want familiarity, tight gunplay, maps that flow, and systems that feel rewarding. But they also crave innovation, something that makes them say, I have never played anything like this before.

This is where many studios stumble. They either chase trends until they lose their identity, or they stick so closely to the formula that players burn out. The real art is in knowing when to take risks. Thad calls them smart risks, bets that are backed by signals from players and early tests. Not every gamble pays off, but the willingness to experiment is what pushes the genre forward.

The Underrated Secret: Community

When asked what keeps shooters alive for decades, Thad did not hesitate. The answer is community. Features like matchmaking, clans, and social hubs are not just nice to have. They are intrinsic motivators. Humans crave connection. We play not just to win but to belong.

Look at Fortnite. Before the battle bus even leaves, players can dance, hang out, and connect. Roblox and Minecraft thrive not only because of gameplay but because of the open community spaces they create. In contrast, Rivals, for all its polish, struggles to retain players because it lacks those community hooks. Games that last forever embrace community. Games that do not, fade away.

What Kills Games

So what is the silent killer of shooters? In Thad’s view, it is failing to identify your audience. Too many games launch without a clear answer to the question: who is this for? If players cannot see themselves in your game, they will not stick around.

Equally fatal is ignoring the friendship hostage effect. If all my friends are playing Fortnite, I will play Fortnite even if I do not love it because I want to hang out with them. Getting me to switch means offering something so compelling that it pulls not just me but my entire group away. That is a massive hurdle for any new game.

Finally, trying to be everything to everyone is a recipe for decline. When a game loses its vision, when it spreads itself too thin chasing every type of player, it ends up serving no one well. Staying true to your audience, even if it means narrowing your scope, is often the path to longevity.

Lessons for Developers

The stories Thad shared are packed with lessons for anyone building games today

Start small and grow deliberately. Franchises are built, not launched
Balance familiarity with innovation. Players want comfort and surprise
Invest in community. It is not optional. It is the lifeblood of forever games
Know your audience. Do not launch without a clear target player
Stay true to your vision. Chasing everyone usually means losing everyone

Final Thought

At the end of the day, shooters live or die on two things: fun and connection. You can measure retention curves, analyze monetization, and tweak systems endlessly, but if players are not having fun with each other, the game will not last. As Thad put it, you cannot always measure fun, but you know when it is there. And if players come back for more, you are doing something right.