We live in an age where some games just keep on going, with post-launch roadmaps advertising months or years of future content. Hate 'em or love 'em, live-service games are here to stay (that's kind of their whole shtick). In 2021, five live-service games stood out above the rest, implementing substantial improvements to their existing formula or finding new ways to tell ever-expanding stories.

Below, we list those five games and detail what it is about them that impressed us so much this year. These games aren't listed in order of best to worse or vice versa; we've simply put them in alphabetical order. They're all wonderful examples of how live-service games can be sustained over time, each accomplishing excellence in their own way. From Respawn Entertainment's Apex Legends to Bungie's Destiny 2, and more, these are GameSpot's best live-service games of 2021.

Apex Legends

Apex Legends continued to be a dominant force in the battle royale space in 2021. The year saw developer Respawn release four new seasons, four new playable characters, four new weapons, a new mode, new maps, and a whole host of balancing adjustments and changes. Plus, Apex Legends finally made its way to Switch--it's definitely not the ideal way to play, but it works. The new mode, Arenas, is certainly the highlight for Apex Legends' year, expanding the game outside the battle royale space with an excellent mode that resembles Valorant.