I’ll be spending my Holiday break checking out snow-filled events in these 6 live service games

Here are the best live service games to spend the Holiday season in, from Fortnite’s cozy Winterfest to the snow-covered hills of Arc Raiders Features (Image credit: Epic Games) (Image credit: Embark Studios) (Image credit: NetEase) (Image credit: Ubisoft) (Image credit: Capcom) (Image credit: Rockstar) Jake Green published All I want for Christmas is loot Live service games have been a mixed bag over the years, introducing some of the most cutthroat and consumer-unfriendly practices we’ve ever seen in the industry. They gouge players with loot boxes, lead to entire studio closures on the regular, and their pay-to-win, wallet-targeted mechanics have seeped into every facet of game development, even single-player experiences. Every year, though, live service games completely and wholly make up for every single one of these evils, with bespoke Holiday experiences that warm the hearts of gamers worldwide, and give back to their respective communities with sackfuls of free stuff. I am, unfortunately, a complete sucker for Holiday events in games, especially live service ones. Those maps I’ve spent all year hating? Well, now they’re blanketed in snow, and look, you can even have snowball fights with other players. Lovely. In truth, Holiday events are better than they’ve ever been in games like Fortnite , Arc Raiders , and . Limited-time modes are genuinely exciting and well-executed, and even the obligatory snow variants of maps look better than ever thanks to ballooning graphical fidelity and other tech-based bells and whistles. As such, here are the six best live service games to check out this Holiday season. Marvel Rivals Fortnite Winterfest offers a cozy place to chill Each year, Fortnite gets the Winterfest event, and so far, it’s been a very cozy and genuinely fun affair. A cozy cabin can be accessed via the main menu, and there are new presents to unwrap every day. These award players with free items like new Christmas-themed songs, jolly characters like Grimbles (a sort of yeti, but you know, Christmassy), and other cosmetics. The cabin itself is a wonderful thing, with a roaring fireplace and a very relaxing ambience. You can leave the cabin running as you go about your Holiday celebrations - maybe your Grandma would like to hear the latest Fortnite Xmas rap, featuring Lil’ Whip? I’ll certainly be logging in every day to get my free loot. I’ve more than earned it this year, after spending an amount of money on The Simpsons skins that I’d really rather not reveal. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Arc Raiders Cold Snap brings a white Christmas What’s better than going on a deadly raid above ground with the hopes of finding enough berries to decorate a wreath back at base camp? Well, now there’s snow and frost that will literally kill you just for stepping outside. The Cold Snap update adds the Snowfall map condition to Arc Raiders , increasing the rarity of loot while making the environment extremely dangerous. There are limited-time events to...

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