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Over the last five years there's been tremendous change across console gaming driven by the growth in live service games, the increase in free-to-play titles, and the burgeoning influence of multi-game subscription services.

The demise of the "AA" tier of video games is not a new topic of discussion; it's something that has been pointed out and/or lamented for well over a decade at this point, with the Xbox 360 era often pointed to as being both the swansong and the beginning of the steep decline for lower budget, more quickly developed, and usually more rapidly discounted AA titles.

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Minecraft has announced the Marketplace Pass for $3.99 per month

Following the launch of Sea of Thieves' radical structural overhaul last month, Rare is readying to release a new mid-season update next week that'll add anti-cheat and subscription-free solo play to its swashbuckling pirate adventure. Plus, a big 2024 content preview is on the way as part of Sea of Thieves' sixth anniversary celebrations.

Carl Pei-led Nothing unveiled its latest smartphone, the Nothing Phone 2a, at an event held in New Delhi today, March 5. The smartphone is Nothing's first offering in the mid-range segment, offering features such as a 120Hz AMOLED display, MediaTek 7200 Pro SoC and the iconic Glyph Interface, as it looks to capture the Indian smartphone market. The company has also jumped on the AI bandwagon and announced a partnership with Aravind Srinivas-led Perplexity AI, giving away a freebie in the process for Nothing Phone 2a users!

If you were to buy every Stellaris expansion and content pack separately at full price, it would run you £227.62. To make that perhaps a little less daunting, Paradox have launched an optional monthly subscription service that gives you access to all the expansions. They've done this for several of their other grand strategy games before. It starts at £8.50 for one month then offers discounts for longer terms. While I can see niche uses for the option, I certainly wouldn't want to pay for this regularly. Would you?

If you’re a streamer on Twitch and you’re somehow managing to make money off it, it seems there’s a bit of good news on the horizon. Well, provided you’re based in the UK, Canada, Australia, or Turkey. However, if you’re a subscriber to streamers, this may sting a little.

Over half of the consumers surveyed have experienced subscription traps, hidden charges and other dark patterns on purchasing apps or other software through their mobile application stores, online research firm LocalCircles said on Monday.

Epic Game Store may soon be launching their own subscription service, if this leak is to be believed.

Sony has its own subscription service, PlayStation Plus, but it's a far cry from what Xbox Game Pass has on offer. While PlayStation Plus focusses on showing off the best of Sony's backlog, Xbox games often hit Game Pass on day one. Despite this difference, it doesn't seem that Sony plans on changing its strategy anytime soon.

Since its debut in November 2022, ChatGPT has seen a meteoric rise. The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot was developed by OpenAI and became a sensation with its ability to generate content out of thin air using prompts. This made it useful for various content generation purposes including blog posts, emails, essays, social media posts, and even academic work! Following its initial success, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Plus, a subscription that opens up access to a more advanced version of ChatGPT. Know all about ChatGPT Plus including its features, tools, cost, and more.

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The CEO of Larian Studios, Swen Vincke, has said that the developer has no intention to bring its titles to subscription services.

Earlier this week, Philippe Tremblay, Ubisoft’s director of subscriptions, made a comment in an interview stating how video game fans would need to get comfortable with not owning their games. Today, Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios’ CEO responded, calmly explaining his opinion that “direct from developer” is best.

Yes, Paradox Interactive has increased the price of its expansion subscription to Europa Universalis 4 in multiple regions, but not to the extent some players were worried about.

Larian CEO Swen Vincke has been reading Ubisoft director of subscriptions Philippe Tremblay's thoughts from yesterday about how players need to "get comfortable" with renting their games as a package, rather than "having and owning" an individual copy. His broad takeaway is: that ain't it, chief. In a social media thread today, Vincke wrote that "it's going to be a lot harder to get good content if subscription becomes the dominant model and a select group gets to decide what goes to market and what not". He feels that "direct from developer to players is the way". As such you shouldn't expect Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity: Original Sin 2 or any other Larian RPGs to join the Game Pass bandwagon anytime soon.

Over the last decade or so, the entertainment industry has seen many rises and falls across all brands. These changes have affected music, TV, movies, and even video games. Things “for sure never going to fail” started to fail. Then, things that “could never work” have done well and made many wonder if things could go further down that path. One such path is that of the “game subscription service,” which was punctuated by the Xbox Game Pass, which has done wonders for Microsoft. However, Larian Studios isn’t on board with this notion, nor with notions of such services made by fellow game developers.

Larian Studios' games won't be made available on subscription services, according to founder and CEO Swen Vincke.

The director of Baldur's Gate 3 has discussed the possibility of their games heading to subscription services, sharing: "Direct from developer to players is the way."

Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has said the company won’t be putting any of its games on subscription services.

Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke has said that the studio's games won't ever be found on a subscription service because he wants «to make sure the other ecosystem doesn’t die.»

With the debate around the future of video game subscriptions heating up, one high-profile developer has come out strongly on the side of the traditional method of selling games.

You won't find any Larian Studios games on a subscription service, said its CEO Swen Vincke.

Ubisoft's director of subscriptions Philippe Tremblay has said that for all the growth of videogame subscription services in the past few years, players are still accustomed to "having and owning their games". Accordingly, he feels his task is to help you grow "comfortable" with the idea that the game you're playing might be taken offline as part of the release schedule, with Tremblay pointing out that you can still resume your save file when the game is next available.

Announced on Ubisoft+’s news page, the company is renaming its subscription service. Now, when you’re telling your friends about Ubisoft+ Multi-Access and PC Access, you should call it Ubisoft+ Premium instead.

French publisher Ubisoft is hoping to attract more PC gamers with an expanded offering to its subscription service.

Ubisoft has shared the changes they have made to their subscription service, including a statement about Activision games.

Ubisoft has updated its subscription model, and said consumers need to be «comfortable with not owning [their] game».

Ubisoft has announced major changes to its Ubisoft+ subscription service. Coinciding with the early access release of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the company has announced that it is renaming its subscription plans.

Ubisoft announced new options for those who want to subscribe to Ubisoft+. Ubisoft's overhaul of the service comes alongsidePrince of Persia: The Lost Crown's early-access release on Ubisoft+.

Ubisoft sees “tremendous opportunity for growth” in subscription services, if consumers can get used to not owning games like they have with music, movies and TV content.

A new Pet has been included in the 12 month bundle for World of Warcraft. For Wrath CLassic, a new pet called Cypress has been added, a small dragon.

Sabotage Studio's classic turn-based RPG Sea of Stars has surpassed 4 million players in less than four months, the indie studio has announced.

We've joined forces up with Loupedeck and Streamlabs for a mighty streaming giveaway. We'll be handing out a Loupedeck Live S customizable livestream controller and a full year's Streamlabs Ultra subscription to one lucky winner. 

Every professional, student, and more is taking to AI tools with gusto. And why not? After all, getting AI to serve you as your personal assistant is just what the doctor ordered to lower stress levels and extended hours spent bent over a desk. AI tools are definitely a blessing for all those who have jobs to do and assignments to submit. So, if you are looking for an AI tool too that can generate high-resolution images, without the requirement of a hefty investment and resources, then we have your back. You can look at some of these tools provided by centralised services, but access depends on payment. But not everyone can, or wants, to pay for these services. Breaking free from this problem, a groundbreaking AI tool developed by the University of Surrey is set to transform the narrative, making high-resolution image generation accessible to a broader audience. Meet, DemoFusion.

Old School RuneScape is grindy even by MMO standards. It can take months to reach the max level in just one of the game's 23 skills, and literal years to hit 99 in all of them, which is a major end goal for many players. That being said, if I had, I don't know, 43 guaranteed years of pre-paid premium membership ahead of me, I'd probably feel a little comfier knowing for a mathematical fact that I've got all the time in the world to grind the MMO at my leisure. 

If you’ve been eyeing the Cozy Edition of Disney Dreamlight Valley, they’ve got an exclusive deal just for you. You can get 20% off your purchase if you have a Disney+ Subscription.

Tumblr underwent a redesign in July 2023 when the platform announced it would improve its content discovery as well as ease the process of creating a page. The company claimed the changes were implemented based on user feedback. Now, taking another step in its feedback-focused process, it will also be removing the Tumblr Post Plus subscriptions. It allowed creators to share content behind a paywall for those subscribers who paid for the subscription. The company has said that it will be removed starting January 2024.

Black Friday PS Plus deals offer up a rare chance to save on Sony's subscription service. Not only that, but we're seeing Black Friday PS5 deals bringing that price point down even lower - and it's all thanks to gift cards. Luckily, these gift card deals appear to be sticking around for Cyber Monday, so there's still time to make the most of this bargain.

If there's one time you don't want your subscription running out in World of Warcraft, it's when you're in the middle of a race to be the first team to clear one of the MMO's new raids. 

Over the years, various social media platforms have opted for the subscription model. They are looking to monetize as large a proportion of their users as is possible and for that, they are willing to go the extra mile in providing other, more useful, services and value-adds. Now, a new ad-free subscription plan is being considered by platforms like Snapchat, having already rolled out the Snapchat Plus subscription tier and the carrot that it is dangling is to allow these subscribers to get an ad-free service. However, the question that might arise in your mind is, will users be willing to pay more for ad-free viewing? The jury is still out on that. Check out what the new Snapchat subscription plans say.

By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.

Snapchat has established a massive global fan base since the day it was launched in 2011. Snapchat has evolved with various exciting filters and updates over the years. Among others, its most interesting Chat disappearing feature has fascinated its users. Well, Snapchat also has its own subscription extension known as Snapchat Plus and with this subscription, you can use the most exciting features of Snapchat. Recently, a report suggests that Snapchat is planning to introduce a “Friends & Family Plan”. Read here to know all about it.

Crunchyroll is the latest streaming service to add mobile games to its offering.

By Andrew Webster, an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.

I had no idea that I had Microsoft Rewards points. You probably do, too: You get them by doing Bing searches and other gratuitous Microsoft web activities and can redeem them for things like Amazon gift cards, Diablo 4 battle pass tiers, and PC Game Pass subscriptions.

Meta is responding to "evolving European regulations" by introducing a premium subscription option for Facebook and Instagram from Nov. 1.

 Elon Musk's X began offering new subscription tiers for users on Friday in an attempt to shore up revenue at the social media company. 

Last night, X (formerly Twitter) finally launched two more subscription tiers to the paid version of its platform, known as the X Premium subscription. The Elon Musk-owned social media platform now has a Basic, Premium, and Premium Plus tier for those who want to access features such as editing a post, posting longer posts, and background video playing. Every tier unlocks some tier-specific benefits, and the most expensive plan, Premium Plus, unlocks all the features, and on top of that removes all ads and gives the user the “largest boost for your replies”. Let us take a look at the tiers, their price, and what they offer.

Blizzard has introduced a new 12-month Subscription Reward on the Battle.net shop. Wrath of the Lich King Classic players will receive a Nightmarish Emerald Drake flying mount, which is a similar model to the Burning Crusade Classic 12-month subscription reward, Festering Emerald Drake. Battle.net Subsription Shop Page

A new 12-month subscription offer is now available on the World of Warcraft store and includes the Gleaming Moonbeast mount! This 12-month subscription include the and Ginormous Grrloc for Retail.

Roblox is making a big offer to game makers on its platform, and it's set to change how online games work. They want game creators to add in-experience subscriptions to their games before December 15. And in return, Roblox will cut the fees they usually charge.

Twitter has been teasing, testing, and launching different subscription tiers since Elon Musk took over the company last year, but he's not done yet.

Quest Portal, a startup dedicated to making tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) more accessible online, raised $7.6 million in funding.

Netflix is increasing the monthly cost of its subscription, despite an influx of subscribers over the past few months.

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The Mobile Battle.net shop has teased an unreleased 12-Month subscription offer! The last 12 month sub bundle was released on November 1st, 2022 which means it is about time for another one! On the Battle.net mobile shop, there's a new header at the top that teases a new 12-month subscription offer but it DOES NOT appear to be available yet. This looks to contain multiple new mounts for both Retail and Classic WoW!

Where does the successful closure of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion leave Sony, easily the most vocal opponent of the merger in the whole games industry? GamesIndustry asked a bunch of analysts, including our friend Karol Severin from MIDiA Research, who suggested that Sony should build a multimedia subscription service as it can't fight Microsoft head-on in the games department after the acquisition.

As cricket fever grips the nation with the onset of the 2023 Cricket World Cup, Jio has stepped up to the crease by launching an array of seven new prepaid plans, designed exclusively for Indian consumers. The highlight of these plans? Each one includes a free subscription to Disney+ Hotstar, ensuring cricket enthusiasts can stream all the thrilling World Cup action without any additional cost. These prepaid offerings are now live and available for customers to recharge conveniently through the Jio website. With prices ranging from Rs. 328 to ₹3,178, there's something to cater to every fan's needs and preferences.

Evidence has appeared that Microsoft is considering releasing Windows 12 as a subscription service.

X (formerly Twitter) has begun testing three different tiers of its proposed premium subscription. The information came from the company CEO Linda Yaccarino in a meeting with debt holders as she updated the bankers about the finances and revenue of X, as per a report. It was also highlighted that the testing was done to increase the revenue collection from the subscription funnel. Additionally, X also stated during the meeting that the advertisers are returning back to the platform, although with smaller budgets.

Stockbroking firm Goodbody analyzes the challenges faced by Devolver and TinyBuild due to subscription deals and underperforming titles.

Cult of the Lamb publisher Devolver Digital has, as revealed by its latest financial results, had offers to put some of its titles on a Game Pass-style subscription service. However, it turned these offers down as the company believed they undervalued the games.

Devolver Digital is a pretty well-known name in the video game industry. This is a publisher and developer that mainly handles smaller indie games. However, the games released have been incredibly popular. So, chances are you’ve either picked up some of their projects in the past or are looking forward to upcoming launches that fall under their umbrella. Regardless, one thing you will continue to see a lack of from this company is their games landing on any subscription services. That is, until offers start to reflect the value these games bring to the table.

Tinder has rolled out an ultra-premium subscription tier to its dating app users, charging $499 per month to access features like exclusive search and matching.

If you own an Amazon Echo and use Alexa Guard, we have some bad news.

Snap Inc. has gained more than 5 million subscribers for its paid service, an offering that gives users early access to new features like an AI-generated selfie maker for $3.99 a month.

The latest update from The Sims team includes another development on the game that's currently codenamed Project Rene, which we're calling The Sims 5 in the meantime. Importantly, Maxis confirms that the next major Sims game will be free-to-play and that its base game will include more features than The Sims 4 did at launch, thank goodness.

PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium games for September will be NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139..., Star Ocean The Divine Force, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Sid Meier's Civilization VI, Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 and Unpacking.

BMW isn't going to lock non-essential, but desirable features behind a subscription paywall anymore.

Sony is about to bump up the annual cost of every tier of PlayStation Plus, its subscription service that enables online play and game streaming, and provides a monthly batch of free games for PS5 gamers. The company announced the price changes in late August, and today is your final chance to save before the cost goes up Sept. 6 by as much as $40 — that is, if you want the highest Premium tier. Its most affordable Essential tier will increase by $20 per year, going from $59.99 to $79.99.

It's been a little while since we saw a glimpse of the Bad Old Sony – the company that priced the PS3 at $200 above its closest competitor and retorted to criticism by saying that consumers would get a second job to be able to afford the console. Remember those guys?

By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.

Larian Studios' Director of Publishing, Michael Douse, has taken to Twitter to comment on a recent article about weaker subscription deals hitting indie devs.

PlayStation Plus subscription prices are increasing across the board by as much as $40 a year.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced the September 2023 Monthly Games lineup for PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers. All titles will be available from September 5 to October 2.

PlayStation Plus will be receiving significant price hikes in about a week’s time. Sony has announced that started September 6, prices will be increased for 12-month subscriptions for all three PlayStation Plus tiers.

If you were looking for something new to play, then subscription service plans being offered by the likes of Sony might help tie you over. PlayStation Plus has been a staple service for Sony fans. It’s provided them with a few notable benefits, including the ability to claim new games for free each month. Best of all, these games are yours to enjoy just as long as you keep an active PlayStation Plus subscription. We’re nearing the end of August, and with it comes the arrival of a new collection of video game titles to enjoy for the month of September.