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Not everyone bows to the inevitability of subscription models | Opinion
19.01.2024 - 11:17 / gamesindustry.biz / Swen Vincke / Playstation Plus / Game Pass / Philippe Tremblay
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There is a mode of thinking that is far from uncommon in the games business right now, which simply accepts as inevitable the idea that subscription services will become the dominant business model for video games in the coming years.
Within that school of thought there are many schisms; there is plenty of diversity of opinion over which companies will end up as the dominant players, the role that game streaming will play in the whole situation, whether the market will support multiple subscription services from individual publishers, and so on, with positions on such questions being based at least as much on wishful thinking as on genuine market analysis.
The core belief, however, is consistent; subscription services are going to take over, pushing traditional sales models to the fringes as they become increasingly widespread, with consumers balking at paying extra for games outside their subscription libraries.
Not everyone is exactly happy with this vision of the future, not least because it’s easy to see the absolute havoc being wreaked on the TV and movie industries by the collapse of the low-interest, easy money environment that fuelled the ambitions of would-be “disruptors” who single-mindedly pursued growth in subscription numbers with little notion of how an eventual pivot to profitability might be achieved down the line.
Some don’t see subscriptions becoming dominant in gaming at all; even among those who see it as inevitable, there are plenty who see this as an overwhelmingly negative thing, and wonder how alternative business models might be carved out and shielded from that inevitability.
This week saw an interesting dialogue around this topic that made clear some of the most important lines of tension in the games industry right now. Following on comments from Ubisoft’s Philippe Tremblay regarding subscription services – very much in the ranks of those who claim inevitability, though Ubisoft does like to imagine that there’s a place for publisher-specific subscription services in this version of the future – Larian boss Swen Vincke responded publicly to express his disquiet with subscription models and pledge that his company would not permit its games to be included in subscription catalogues.
The fears of people like Vincke and Zelnick about the impact of subscriptions may be unfounded – but they might also just be ahead of the curve
Vincke’s comments add an interesting perspective to a discussion that has often focused on the impact of subscription models on consumers, platform holders, and major publishers, but has regularly overlooked the position of development studios and smaller independent publishers. His
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