Subscriptions in the world of gaming

We will see a switch of the distribution model of games from a one-time payment one to a subscription one; maybe even very soon. In his interview with Bloomberg, the CEO of EA, Andrew Wilson said "The notion that [subscription streaming services] wouldn't impact our industry, I think, is naive. Will it take a little bit longer? Yes, for a whole bunch of reasons [like] file size, level of interactivity, and design."

This shows, that one of the biggest companies on the market may implement the subscription model very soon, leading to a change in industry’s distribution models. We could have predicted that a change was coming but were we able to predict that this big of a change will happen?

I think that yes. Current model had been the same since the beginning of gaming. You go to a shop, you buy a game. No need to download anything, just “plug and play.” This was the beginning because back then, we had no means to download big chunks of data over the internet; it was simply too slow.

Then we have switched to downloading games on the internet. We pay some $60 for a game and then download it. You get DLCs from time to time, that are paid, and after some time, you stop playing, because you buy a new game.

What is going to be next, is a model where we pay each and every month to access selected game. It will be constantly updated, and its content expanded, so that users don’t feel like they are bored, and cancel payments. There will be no new games like FIFA every single year. The game will be downloaded once by a user, but new functionalities added systematically and accessible without any additional payment.

It will be beneficial both for us and the producers. We won’t feel, say $7 a month being taken from our account every month. The producers, on the other hand, will earn more this way. Slowly, but more.