How games are balanced

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Balancing a game is one of the most complex tasks in game development, especially when you're dealing with a completely distinct and diverse group of characters. So how do developers do it?

=== Sources and resources ===

– Sources

Jeff Kaplan | Battle.net Forums
https://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20757706588?page=2#post-24

Jaime Griesemer | GDC 2010
(“Design Details: Changed the time between sniper rifle shots from 0.5 to 0.7 seconds for Halo 3”)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1012211/Design-in-Detail-Changing-the

Rob Pardo | GDC 2010
(“Set a standard (and try to stick to it!): Blizzard design philosophies”)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1012291/Making-a-Standard-(and-Trying

Kosuke Yabuki | GDC 2018
(“ARMS: Building Mario Kart 8 Insights into a Nintendo Switch Fighter Showcase”)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024907/-ARMS-Building-Mario-Kart

Akali's win rate has dropped: here's why | Dot Esports
https://dotesports.com/league-of-legends/news/akali-win-rate-plummeted-league-of-legends

Developer Update – Symmetra Redesign | Play Overwatch on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elN-QGyToxM

Leroy Athanassof & Geoffroy Mouret | GDC 2018
(“Intelligent game design on Rainbow Six Siege”)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1025323/Intelligent-Game-Design-on-Rainbow

Stefan Engblom | GDC 2017
(“Quest for the Healthy Metagame: Card Balancing in Clash Royale”)
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024272/Quest-for-the-Healthy-Metagame

Analysis: Why we should improve more than Nerf | Core-A Gaming on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsC8io4w1sY

Epic removes the overpowered Infinity Blade from Fortnite, says it 'wasted' | Polygon
https://www.polygon.com/fortnite/2018/12/14/18141134/fortnite-infinity-blade-removed

Live Gameplay Q&A, Number 1 | League of Legends tables
https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/xwOObpq2-live-gameplay-qa-issue-1-feat-feralpony-smashgizmo?sort_type=recent

– Additional resources

Developer Insights: Arena Balance Through Science | Hearth
https://playhearthstone.com/en-gb/blog/22788308/

Rock Paper Scissors – A Method for Competitive Game Design | Gamasutra
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130150/rock_paper_scissors__a_method_for_.php

The unbalanced design of Super Smash Brothers | ForrestLesWoods
https://medium.com/forrest-the-woods/the-unbalanced-design-of-super-smash-brothers-3fbc9b346e15

=== Chapters ===

00:00 – Presentation
01:40 – Create compromises
03:37 – Using counters
07:16 – Balance test
10:47 a.m. – Nerfing and polishing
12:56 – Balancing between skill levels
2:18 p.m. – Conclusion
3:15 p.m. – Patreon credits

=== Games displayed ===

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (Infinity Ward, 2016)
Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment, 2016)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Sora, 2008)
The King of Fighters XIV (SNK, 2016)
Tetris 99 (Arika, 2019)
StarCraft II (Blizzard Entertainment, 2010)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Sora, 2018)
League of Legends (Riot Games, 2009)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal, 2015)
Street Fighter V (Capcom, 2016)
Call of Duty: World War II (Sledgehammer Games, 2017)
Splatoon (Nintendo, 2015)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 2017)
Hearthstone (Blizzard Entertainment, 2014)
Halo 3 (Bungie, 2007)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, 2007)
The Walking Dead: 400 Days (Telltale Games, 2013)
Weapons (Nintendo, 2017)
Dead or Alive 6 (Team Ninja, 2019)
Halo Wars 2 (343 Industries / Creative Assembly, 2017)
Pokémon: Let's go Eevee! (Game Freak, 2018)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt, 2015)
Life is Strange 2 (Dontnod Entertainment, 2018)
Team Fortress 2 (Valve Corporation, 2007)
Clash Royale (Supercell, 2016)
Dota 2 (Valve Corporation, 2013)
Fortnite (Epic Games, 2017)
Killer Instinct (Double Helix Games, 2013)
Rocket League (Psyonix, 2015)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward, 2009)
Monopoly Plus (Ubisoft Pune, 2014)
Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment, 2019)
Prismata (Lunarch Studios, 2018)