The Problem with PowerCreep

Written By Xander Perez

In certain video games like in live-service games, MMOs, MOBAs, and gacha games, the developers must find a way to make revenue and keep their game alive. For the next updates to come, new gear/characters will be more powerful while older characters/gear will become less prominent and thus forgotten.

What is PowerCreep?

Powercreep is a video game term meant to represent how later weapons/characters overshadow older characters. This term is mainly used when the game reaches it’s first anniversary and the devs want to celebrate by adding an OP character that includes special and unique attacks

Examples:

• Trading Card Games (e.g., Magic: The Gathering): Older cards like Vampire Nighthawk are rarely used now because new sets introduce creatures that do more for less cost.
• Role-Playing Games (e.g., Dungeons & Dragons 5e): Newer subclasses often outperform base game options. Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything introduced subclasses like Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul, which give sorcerers extra spells, fixing a flaw in older subclasses and making them superior
• Gacha Games (e.g., Honkai Star Rail & Genshin Impact): Characters like Neuvillette from Genshin and Acheron from Honkai Star Rail completely overshadow all the characters in the game by providing attacks and skills that give One Hit kill effects.
• MOBA (e.g., League of Legends): Early champions often had zero mobility, relying entirely on positioning. Newer champions (e.g., Yasuo, Irelia, Akali, K’Sante) frequently have multiple dashes, wall jumps, or movement speed boosts built into their kits.

Why they do it:

The reason power creep occurs is because developers introduce new, stronger content to keep games engaging and profitable. Including special and more powerful abilities that are meant to be used in the endgame content as well as newer story content where enemies have buffed stats.

How to fix it:

A main solution to fix Power Creep in games is to buff the older units/weapons, that way they can be relevant and actually stand a chance against the newer content and characters. In addition to that, balance endgame enemies that way they are massive targets with Health inflation.